Gastrointestinal Issues Persist in Many, Months After COVID Infection

May 26, 2021

Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal (GI) issues are known to be non-respiratory COVID-19 symptoms during an active infection. However, a team of researchers in Italy were curious whether their patients were continuing to experience these symptoms after their period of infection ended. Their study utilized a self-report survey, which was emailed to patients that had been treated for COVID-19 in March and May 2020 at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan. Hospital workers who had tested negative for COVID served as controls. 164 COVID-19 survivors and 183 uninfected controls submitted their survey responses. The results indicated that loose stool was ranked as the most commonly experienced GI issue and it appeared twice as frequently in the responses of survivors when compared to controls.