Name:
Publisher version
View Source
Access full-text PDFOpen Access
View Source
Check access options
Check access options
Date
2020Journal
Journal of Clinical and Experimental HepatologyPublisher
Elsevier B.V.Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV,-2 has continued to progress, and increasing information is becoming available about the incidence of digestive symptoms as well as abnormal liver-associated enzymes in patients who are infected. These are postulated to be related to the virus's use of ACE-2 receptors located on certain intestinal cells, cholangiocytes, and hepatocytes. This brief review summarizes the available limited data on digestive manifestations of COVID-19. A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients can present initially with only digestive complaints. The most common digestive symptoms are anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Liver-related transaminases are elevated in a substantial proportion of patients, although generally only mildly elevated. Currently there is no firm evidence to suggest that severity of digestive symptoms corresponds to severity of COVID-19 clinical course, however, more severe alterations in liver enzymes may correlate with worse clinical course. Given use of antiviral and antibacterial agents in sicker patients, drug-induced liver injury cannot be ruled out either in these cases. Although viral RNA can be detected in stool, it is unclear whether fecal-oral transmission can be achieved by the virus. As further data becomes available, our understanding of the digestive manifestations of COVID-19 will continue to evolve.Identifier to cite or link to this item
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85083093762&doi=10.1016%2fj.jceh.2020.03.001&partnerID=40&md5=e8f101180cdc8c094bbff8282bb192a3; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/12616ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.jceh.2020.03.001