COVID-19: A gastroenterologist’s perspective

ABSTRACT

The ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic poses significant challenge to mankind in terms of healthcare resources and economic slowdown. Though mainly manifested as pneumonia, the virus can affect the digestive system producing a gamut of symptoms. The main clinical issues related to gastroenterology include possibility of faeco-oral route of transmission, occurrence of isolated digestive symptoms, abnormalities in liver function tests that correlate with disease severity, and effective infection control measures for endoscopy procedures.