Long-lasting dyspeptic symptoms - another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Anna Nazarewska; Konrad Lewandowski; Magdalena Kaniewska; Edyta Tulewicz-Marti; Martyna Więcek; Paulina Szwarc; Mariusz Rosołowski; Wojciech Marlicz; Grażyna Rydzewska

doi:10.5114/pg.2023.129414

Long-lasting dyspeptic symptoms - another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Prz Gastroenterol. 2023;18(2):175-182. doi: 10.5114/pg.2023.129414. Epub 2023 Jul 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Warsaw, Poland.
² Department of Internal Medicine and Hypertension, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
³ Department of Hypertension, Gastroenterology, and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok Clinical Hospital, Bialystok, Poland.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
⁵ Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: It is known that the virus SARS-CoV-2 can attack the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and induce gastroenteritis. This can trigger a wide variety of disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs) or functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), including post-infectious dyspepsia, which remains underestimated.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of dyspeptic symptoms following COVID-19, immediately after discharge and 3, 6, and 9 months after hospitalization.

Material and methods: A prospective, single-centre evaluation of questions regarding functional dyspepsia (FD) as assessed by the Gastroduodenal Module of ROME IV Diagnostic Questionnaire for Adult FGIDs among 320 patients who had had COVID-19.

Results: The FD ROME IV criteria were met at the respective time-points by 0.0% (0), 4.8% (12), 3.2% (8), and 3.2% (8) of cases. However, the presence of GI symptoms that suggested FD but did not meet the timeframe ROME IV criteria for FD were found in 9.6% (24), 23.5% (59), 20.7% (52), and 20.7% (52) of cases, respectively.

Conclusions: The presence and persistence of gastrointestinal dyspeptic symptoms following COVID-19 is a significant problem. The timeframe of the Rome IV criteria may underestimate the number of patients with persistent dyspeptic symptoms following COVID-19 disease.

Keywords: ROME IV criteria; coronavirus disease 2019; disorders of gut-brain interaction; functional dyspepsia; functional gastrointestinal disorders.