For IBD patients, this will be a challenge. For us who have frequent diarrhea, how to tell whether we are infected with COVID-19?<\/p>\n
A\u00a0new study published<\/a>\u00a0in The American Journal of Gastroenterology reports that some people who get the coronavirus will experience digestive symptoms like diarrhea as a first sign of the virus.<\/p>\n COVID-19 is a new-to-humans coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0that primarily attacks the lungs and respiratory system. Its primary symptoms include fever, cough, shortness or breath and, if the infection worsens, chest pain, pneumonia and difficulty breathing. As medicals experts around the world race to learn new information, however, the list of the symptoms expands.<\/p>\n The new study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology looked at data from 204 patients with COVID-19 in China\u2019s Hubei province. Researchers found that 48.5% of these patients arrived at the hospital with digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain. The study suggested digestive symptoms may present before the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19. Those with digestive symptoms included in this study also had a more severe course of illness.<\/p>\n This study\u2019s findings add additional evidence to mounting suspicion that COVID-19 causes gastrointestinal symptoms for some people. A case\u00a0report published in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0on the first known COVID-19 patient in the United States, for example, noted the patient experienced loose stool and abdominal discomfort during their second day of hospitalization. Other research has found evidence the\u00a0virus is shed in fecal matter<\/a>, similar to other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS.<\/p>\n