Wondering If You Have COVID-19? Diarrhea May Be a Symptom

Early research suggests that gastrointestinal distress can be an early warning sign of a coronavirus infection.

By Leah Shaffer
Apr 15, 2020 1:00 PMNov 3, 2020 5:14 PM
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(Credit: Emily Frost/Shutterstock)

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Every person with a cough and fever may be asking themselves whether they have COVID-19, but research has shown that gastrointestinal problems can also be a sign of novel coronavirus infection.

In a preprint study from March 18, scientists found that nearly 20 percent of 204 COVID-19 patients from hospitals in China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak began, had gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea, in addition to fever or respiratory symptoms.

Another analysis of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China, shows a distinct group of people with milder respiratory symptoms who experienced diarrhea, abdominal pain or nausea, says Brennan Spiegel, a gastroenterologist and director of Cedars-Sinai Health Services Research. Spiegel co-authored the analysis — also still in the preprint stage — showing about 20 percent of a patient group had diarrhea as their first symptom of infection.

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