CCOFEE-GI Study: Colombian COVID19 First Experience in Gastroentrology. Characterization of digestive manifestations in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at a highly complex institution in Bogota D.C., Colombia (preprint)

The current pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed an important threat to the human health, healthcare systems, economy, and structure of societies. In Colombia, the first case was diagnosed on March 6, 2020 , with exponential progressive growth, and there were >200,000 confirmed cases as of July 20, 2020, in this cross-sectional, analytical, and observational study, we focused on the demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical characteristics of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection at a highly complex institution in Latinamerica, with special emphasis on gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods: Demographic and clinical data were collected, results related to the outcomes such as hospitalization time, admission to ICU, need for orotracheal intubation, and death were also included. Statistical analyses were conducted using Stata software V.15. Results: We included 72 patients RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2 (34 women and 38 men) with age 47.5 17.7 years; 17 (23.6%) presented at least one of the gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, and/or diarrhea). 13 (76.47%) presented with diarrhea, 29.41% with nausea/vomiting, and five (29.41%) with abdominal pain. Diarrhea in 18.06% of all those infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time of consultation, which was the most common digestive symptom. No significant differences were observed in requirement for endotracheal intubation, hospitalization, ICU admission, and fatal outcome between the NGIS and GIS groups (p:0.671, 0.483, 1,000, and 1,000). Conclusion: In our study, patients with gastrointestinal symptoms had no significant differences in disease severity, admission to ICU or death compared to those who did not have such symptoms.