Acute Abdomen as an Early Symptom of Coronavirus Disease 2019
Keywords:
acute abdomen, SARS-CoV-2, abdominal pain, coronavirus disease 2019‑nCoV, COVID-19Abstract
Introduction: In December 2019, several cases of atypical pneumonia were reported, causing high morbidity and mortality. Subsequently, it was discovered that the etiologic agent was a new coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2; and the new disease, COVID-19, characterized by predominantly respiratory signs and symptoms. However, other extrapulmonary symptoms such as abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may occur, even in the absence of respiratory tract symptoms.
Objective: To review the literature regarding acute abdomen as an early symptom of COVID-19.
Methods: A literature search was carried out from January to October 2020, using COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, dolor abdominal [abdominal pain] and abdomen agudo [acute abdomen] as key terms. The databases used were MEDLINE, with its PubMed search engine, and LILACS; articles in English and Spanish were selected.
Conclusions: Most symptoms of COVID-19 are respiratory; however, gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite have been described, which may appear in the first days of infection and could go unnoticed, constituting a nonrespiratory subgroup of symptoms that increase the risk of contagion.
Keywords: acute abdomen; SARS-CoV-2; abdominal pain; coronavirus disease 2019‑nCoV; COVID-19
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