THE INCIDENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS IN 567 SARS-COV-2 IINFECTED PATIENTS DURING THE SURGE DUE TO DELTA VARIANT, AND THE IMPACT ON THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic reportedly caused a significant increase in the utilization of all healthcare sectors. The surge of cases was attributed to the new variants of the virus causing more burden on the system. One of the helpful tools to increase awareness and reduce the chance of transmission is the early recognition of COVID-19 infection symptoms. Educating the public about these symptoms may help patients to seek medical attention early, and be cautious about exposing others to the virus. A significant percentage of infected patients visited our center due to COVID-19 presented with gastrointestinal symptoms. We are reporting our experience related to these issues. Methods: Data was cross-sectional and collected from 2334 charts for patientspresented to the center during the period between 7/26/2021 - 8/11/2021. We collected patients' demographics, vaccine status, reasons for the visit and all presenting symptoms. Abbott Rapid PCR test was used to confirm the infection. We also collected data regarding the visits to the center during the same period in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 for comparison. Results: There has been a significant increase in healthcare utilization due to COVID-19 over previous years during the same periods. In 2017, 2018, and 2019 the average number of visits were 464, while in 2020 the total number was 1387 visits, of which 998 were COVID-19 related visits. In 2021, total visits were 2334 of which 1785 wereCOVID-19 related. These values indicate a 3- and 5-folds' increase in the number of visits respectively, with about 75% of the visits during the last two years being COVID-19 related. 265 Out of the 567 COVID-19 positive patients reported at least one GI symptom, 47 % overall (50% females and 43% males), the loss of taste was 26% (28% females and 25% males), nausea was 22% (23% females, 20% males), diarrhea was 20% (19% females and 20% males), and vomiting was 8% (7% females and 8% males). There were significant differences in symptoms rate between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals (unvaccinated 48.9%, vaccinated 38.3%). Conclusion: The study demonstrates a significant burden of the current COVID-19 surge on the healthcare system in comparison to previous years. 14% of the COVID-19positive patients were asymptomatic, being tested due to exposure. Most of the patients were symptomatic, 47% of COVID-19 positive patients presented with at least one GI symptom. Symptoms are more prevalent among unvaccinated