Objectives: Patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can present with gastrointestinal symptoms as their initial symptoms or as the main manifestations during disease progression, but the clinical characteristics of these patients are still unknown. Methods: We identified COVID-19 patients who admitted to Xiangyang No. 1 People’s Hospital and presented with gastrointestinal symptoms as their initial or main symptoms. Their medical records were reviewed by two independent clinical scientists. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics as well as the clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Among 142 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 7 (4.9%) of them presented with gastrointestinal symptoms. Three patients had gastrointestinal symptoms as the initial symptoms and chief complaints, and 4 patients as the main symptoms during disease progression. Six patients had symptoms of diarrhea (3–16 days), 7 with anorexia (7–22 days), 6 with upper abdominal discomfort (1–7 days), and 4 with nausea (1–7 days), 1 with heartburn lasting 2 days, and 2 with vomiting symptoms (1 day). The chest CT scan showed typical COVID-19 imaging features, and associated with the progression of the disease. During treatment, 2 patients died due to organ failure. Discussion: COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms are relatively rare and might be misdiagnosed. The clinical features include watery stools, anorexia, and upper abdominal discomfort. These patients may have severe disease and be associated with a poor prognosis. The underlying mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 related gastrointestinal symptoms need to clarify in future studies.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, 2019-nCoV, diarrhea, digestive tract, Gastrointestinal symptom, 【초록키워드】 Clinical characteristics, Symptom, progression, novel coronavirus disease, Symptoms, Clinical outcome, Disease progression, Features, Patient, epidemiological, clinical feature, mechanism, gastrointestinal symptoms, severe disease, COVID-19 cases, chest CT scan, COVID-19 patient, manifestation, Organ failure, medical record, during treatment, initial symptom, anorexia, poor prognosis, nausea, stools, vomiting, independent, initial, analyzed, include, the disease, watery, abdominal discomfort, patients died, 【제목키워드】 China, clinical, Gastrointestinal,