Cafeteria worker Cathy Piluso hands out free meals at Bensalem High School in Bensalem, Pa., Thursday, March 19, 2020. Pennsylvania reported another big jump in confirmed coronavirus Thursday. The state Department of Health reported that cases topped 180, up 40%. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Cafeteria worker Cathy Piluso hands out free meals at Bensalem High School in Bensalem, Pa., Thursday, March 19, 2020. Pennsylvania reported another big jump in confirmed cases of the coronavirus Thursday. The state Department of Health reported that cases topped 180, up 40%. Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Herb Scribner
By Herb Scribner

A new study on the novel coronavirus suggests diarrhea and gastrointestinal issues could be a sign of COVID-19.

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The study, which was published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, reviewed data from 204 coronavirus patients in China’s Hubei providence, which is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

What the study found:

  • 99 of 204 patients — so 48.5% — went to the hospital “with one or more digestive symptoms as their chief complaint, according to the study.
  • Those complaints include diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain, according to the study.
  • 92 of the 99 patients had respiratory symptoms and digestive issues.
  • 7 of the 99 patients had only digestive issues.
  • 85 of the 105 patients without digestive issues only had respiratory issues.
  • 20 of the 105 didn’t have respiratory or digestive issues.

What it means

  • According to Fox News, the study suggested those who reported digestive issues reported having worse overall illness than those who didn’t.
  • The study said: “Moreover, as the severity of the disease increased, digestive symptoms become more pronounced. Patients without digestive symptoms were more likely to be cured and discharged at the time of this study than patients with digestive symptoms.”
  • The researchers said the study shows there’s a need for more research that looks into “the prevalence, incidence, predictors, and outcomes of digestive symptoms in this still-emerging pandemic.”
  • The study’s authors wrote: “In the meantime, clinicians must bear in mind that digestive symptoms, such as diarrhea, may be a presenting feature of COVID-19 that arise before respiratory symptoms, and on rare occasions are the only presenting symptom of COVID-19. Clinicians should raise their index of suspicion when at-risk patients, such as those exposed to COVID-19, present with fever and digestive symptoms, even in the absence of respiratory symptoms. This knowledge may help with earlier identification of COVID-19, faster time to treatment, earlier quarantine and lower exposure to bystanders.”
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