ABSTRACT
Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, the first cases of which were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The disease often presents with major respiratory symptoms. In addition, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are observed. They may be the first or even the only symptoms of the disease. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the presentation of GI symptoms and their relationship to other symptoms, the clinical course and prognosis of patients with COVID-19. Methods: Included in this study were patients over 18 years of age who had been hospitalised for treatment in clinics and intensive care units due to COVID-19 between March and June 2020. The symptoms reported by the patients at the time of admission and the data collected as a result of the clinical follow-up were evaluated. Results: Out of the 1,045 patients with COVID-19, 140 patients (13.4%) had GI symptoms. The complaints of these 140 patients were nausea (53.6%), vomiting (32.1%), abdominal pain (11.4%), diarrhea (45.7%), anorexia (43.6%) and loss of taste (5.6%). In 3.2% of the patients, only GI symptoms were present, without any respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: Gastrointestinal symptoms were present at the time of admission in 13.4% of the patients with COVID-19. The most common GI symptom in the patients was nausea. Length of stay in hospital and mortality rate were higher in patients with only GI symptoms. Therefore, GI symptoms should be considered in patients with suspected COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Early detection of the severity of COVID-19 disease is important for patient prognosis and effective use of hospital capac- ity. Early detection of critical patients and providing supportive treatment is the main goal of disease management. In this study, we evaluated demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiological findings in COVID-19 patients and aimed to find risk factors associated with poor prognosis. Materials and Methods: A total of 579 cases hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were evaluated retrospectively. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positivity or typical clinical, laboratory and radiological findings. The study population was divided into groups according to the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 disease severity classification. Significant risk factors associated with severe disease and mortality were investigated by comparing the demographic, clinical, labora- tory and radiological data of these groups. Results: Mean age of the 579 cases was 54 +/- 18.25, and 321 of them (55.4%) were male. Severe disease was detected in 131 (22.6%) patients and mortality rate was %8.29. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (31.8%), diabetes mellitus (18.5%) and coronary artery disease (17.8%), respectively. The most common symptoms at the time of admission to the hospital were cough (40.7%), fever (38 degrees C;33.6%) and shortness of breath (26.3%). Age, coronary artery disease and shortness of breath, neutrophil count, urea, CRP, ferritin, Pro-BNP, fibronogen, IL-6 values were found to be predictive variables for severe disease. Age, presence of shortness of breath, urea, ferritin and Pro-BNP values were found to be independent predictive variables for severe disease, and the cut-off points were calculated for these variables (age 59.5, urea 33.5 mg/dL, ferritin 50.8 mu g/L and Pro-BNP 881 pg/mL). Conclusion: Some predictive factors were demonstrated to detect severe disease in COVID-19 patients. It is important to predict poor prognosis based on these factors. It provides early detection of critical patients and it will be a guide for reducing mortality rates in these patients with effective treatment.