ABSTRACT
Pandemics obligate providers to transform their clinical practice. An extensive effort has been put to find out feasible approaches for gastrointestinal diseases and also to manage coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related gastrointestinal conditions. Diarrhea, hepatitis, and pancreatitis can be seen in the COVID-19 course. Endoscopic procedures increase the risk of contamination for medical staff and patients despite precautions, therefore indications should be tailored to balance risks vs benefits. Furthermore, whether the immunosupression in inflammatory bowel diseases, liver transplantation, and autoimmune liver diseases increases COVID-19 related risks and how to modify immunosupression are topics of ongoing debate. This review aims to provide most up to date practical approaches that a gastrointestinal fellow should be aware on the problems and management of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to pose a significant threat to global health. Primary prevention remains as a major strategy against the pandemic. Current evidence proves that aerosol and droplet-based routes are the main means of transmission of COVID-19 but other ways should be sought in order to prevent possible collateral transmission. The gastrointestinal system may be one such route. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 is the target entry receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is abundantly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. SARS-CoV-2 is able to infect human enterocytes similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome. Herein this review, we discuss the current knowledge regarding the role of gastrointestinal transmission in transmission and pathophysiology of COVID-19.