Digestive Manifestations and Pathogenesis in Patients With COVID-19 / 胃肠病学

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 currently is a major pandemic disease in the world. It is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a member of the β-coronavirus genus that has 79% homology with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus and can lead to acute respiratory infection. While COVID-19 patients typically present with respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, some patients also report symptoms of digestive system. Studies have identified the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool specimens of infected patients, and the viral receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found to be expressed in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, hepatic cells and pancreatic cells, suggesting that fecal-mouth route is a potential route for transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This article reviewed the digestive manifestations and pathogenesis of patients with COVID-19.