Neurogastroenterology & Motility Manifestations After COVID-19 Infection: A Case Series
American Journal of Gastroenterology
; 117(10 Supplement 2):S1643-S1644, 2022.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2323840
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
In a subset of Covid19-convalescent patients, a multitude of long-term sequelae are increasingly being reported. We report 4 cases with varying neuro-GI and motility manifestations after recent COVID-19 infection. Case Description/Methods:
Case 1 A 23-year-old man contracted COVID-19 and had a protracted course of respiratory illness. Despite resolution of respiratory symptoms and dysgeusia, he continued to experience early satiety, postprandial nausea, vomiting and unintentional weight loss. Gastric Emptying Scan (GES) revealed gastroparesis (Figure A). Dietary modification and metoclopramide led to symptomatic improvement. Case 2 A 39-year-old woman with migraines, suffered from Covid-19 infection where anosmia and respiratory symptoms lasted for 2 weeks. Despite resolution of initial symptoms, she started experiencing nausea and vomiting, and reported stereotypical symptoms with complete absence of vomiting between episodes. Endoscopic examination, CT head and GES were normal. Urine tox screen was negative for cannabinoids. She responded favorably to amitriptyline and ondansetron. Case 3 A 47-year-old man started experiencing severe constipation associated with abdominal pain and bloating soon after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Three months after resolution of respiratory symptoms, in addition to constipation, he began reporting postprandial fullness, early satiation and epigastric pain. GES showed gastroparesis ( figure B) and a Sitzmarks Study revealed delayed colonic transit (Figure C). Prucalopride was started, leading to improvement in symptoms. Case 4 A 74-year-old woman with obesity and diabetes, was hospitalized and intubated for severe respiratory distress due to COVID-19. After discharge, she had persistent symptoms of brain fog, fatigue, dyspnea as well as diarrhea and abdominal cramping, persisting despite loperamide and dicyclomine. C. difficile toxin, random colonic biopsies and H2 breath test were unremarkable. Her symptoms eventually improved with rifaximin. Discussion(s) We report 4 cases with post-COVID gastroparesis, cyclical vomiting syndrome, pan-gut dysmotility, and post-infectious IBS phenotypes.The pathophysiology of post-infectious-gut-brain disorders is still obscure. The current conceptual framework implicates acquired neuropathy, altered motility, intestinal barrier disruption and persistent intestinal inflammation. Similar pathophysiology may be involved in COVID-19 infection leading to sustained neurogastroenterological dysfunction and gut dysmotility.
abdominal pain; adult; aged; anosmia; bloating; body weight loss; brain disease; breath analysis; case report; case study; clinical article; Clostridioides difficile; clouding of consciousness; colon biopsy; colon motility; conceptual framework; conference abstract; constipation; coronavirus disease 2019; cyclic vomiting syndrome; diabetes mellitus; diarrhea; diet; drug therapy; dysgeusia; dyspnea; endoscopy; enteropathy; epigastric pain; fatigue; female; gastrointestinal tract; human; human tissue; inflammation; male; middle aged; migraine; muscle cramp; nausea and vomiting; neuropathy; nonhuman; obesity; phenotype; respiratory distress; respiratory tract disease; satiety; stomach emptying; stomach paresis; vomiting; young adult; amitriptyline; cannabinoid; dicycloverine; loperamide; metoclopramide; ondansetron; prucalopride; rifaximin; toxin
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Type of study:
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Language:
English
Journal:
American Journal of Gastroenterology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS