Case of COVID-19 presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms

Ravi Kant; Lakshya Chandra; Mc Anto Antony; Vipin Verma

doi:10.5501/wjv.v9.i1.1

Case of COVID-19 presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms

World J Virol. 2020 May 25;9(1):1-4. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v9.i1.1.

Authors

Ravi Kant¹, Lakshya Chandra², Mc Anto Antony³, Vipin Verma⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Medical University of South Carolina/AnMed Campus, Anderson, SC 29621, United States. kant.ravi.md@gmail.com.
² Department of Medicine, Bon Secours Saint Francis Health System, Greenville, South Carolina, SC 29601, United States.
³ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Medical University of South Carolina/AnMed Campus, Anderson, SC 29621, United States.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina/AnMed Campus, Anderson, SC 29621, United States.

Abstract

Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) predominantly present with the pulmonary symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. We present a case of an 83 years old patient with COVID-19 who presented with only gastrointestinal symptoms without respiratory complaints. Our case raises the concern regarding our current lack of understanding of extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Given genetic homology between 2019 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 2 and SARS-CoV, our case underscores the urgent need for further studies to understand the role of the gastrointestinal system in 2019 SARS-CoV-2 transmission and COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Diarrhea; Gastrointestinal; Pandemic; SARS-CoV-2.