Are Gastrointestinal Symptoms Specific for COVID-19 Infection? A Prospective Case-Control Study from the United States

“To our knowledge, this is the first prospective case-control study of GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients. We found a high prevalence of GI symptoms (74%) in COVID-19 patients, with the most common GI symptoms being anorexia (53%) and diarrhea (50%). However, GI symptoms were also prevalent (53%) in COVID-19 negative patients, and multivariable analysis showed that GI symptoms were not associated with an increased likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19. This has not yet been reported in prior studies which have been limited by retrospective review of symptoms done in hospitalized patients. The strength of our study is the prospective design with a predesigned questionnaire and negative control group which removes some of the inherent bias present in retrospective chart reviews.”

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