Post COVID-19 irritable bowel syndrome

Marasco, G.; Cremon, C.; Barbaro, M.R.; Cacciari, G.; Falangone, F.; Kagramanova, A.; Bordin, D.; Drug, V.; Miftode, E.; Fusaroli, P.; Mohamed, S.Y.; Ricci, C.; Bellini, M.; Rahman, M.M.; Melcarne, L.; Santos, J.; Lobo, B.; Bor, S.; Yapali, S.; Akyol, D.; Sapmaz, F.P.; Urun, Y.Y.; Eskazan, T.; Celebi, A.; Kacmaz, H.; Ebik, B.; Binicier, H.C.; Bugdayci, M.S.; Yağcı, M.B.; Pullukcu, H.; Kaya, B.Y.; Tureyen, A.; Hatemi, İ.; Koc, E.S.; Sirin, G.; Calıskan, A.R.; Bengi, G.; Alıs, E.E.; Lukic, S.; Trajkovska, M.; Hod, K.; Dumitrascu, D.; Pietrangelo, A.; Corradini, E.; Simren, M.; Sjölund, J.; Tornkvist, N.; Ghoshal, U.C.; Kolokolnikova, O.; Colecchia, A.; Serra, J.; Maconi, G.; De Giorgio, R.; Danese, S.; Portincasa, P.; Di Sabatino, A.; Maggio, M.; Philippou, E.; Lee, Y.Y.; Salvi, D.; Venturi, A.; Borghi, C.; Zoli, M.; Gionchetti, P.; Viale, P.; Stanghellini, V.; Barbara, G.

doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328483

Objectives: The long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection on the gastrointestinal tract remain unclear. Here, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and post-COVID-19 disorders of gut-brain interaction after hospitalisation for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design: GI-COVID-19 is a prospective, multicentre, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were evaluated on hospital admission and after 1, 6 and 12 months post hospitalisation. Gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety and depression were assessed using validated questionnaires. Results: The study included 2183 hospitalised patients. The primary analysis included a total of 883 patients (614 patients with COVID-19 and 269 controls) due to the exclusion of patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal symptoms and/or surgery. At enrolment, gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequent among patients with COVID-19 than in the control group (59.3% vs 39.7%, p<0.001). At the 12-month follow-up, constipation and hard stools were significantly more prevalent in controls than in patients with COVID-19 (16% vs 9.6%, p=0.019 and 17.7% vs 10.9%, p=0.011, respectively). Compared with controls, patients with COVID-19 reported higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to Rome IV criteria: 0.5% versus 3.2%, p=0.045. Factors significantly associated with IBS diagnosis included history of allergies, chronic intake of proton pump inhibitors and presence of dyspnoea. At the 6-month follow-up, the rate of patients with COVID-19 fulfilling the criteria for depression was higher than among controls. Conclusion: Compared with controls, hospitalised patients with COVID-19 had fewer problems of constipation and hard stools at 12 months after acute infection. Patients with COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of IBS than controls. Trial registration number: NCT04691895.

Post COVID-19 irritable bowel syndrome / G. Marasco, C. Cremon, M.R. Barbaro, G. Cacciari, F. Falangone, A. Kagramanova, D. Bordin, V. Drug, E. Miftode, P. Fusaroli, S.Y. Mohamed, C. Ricci, M. Bellini, M.M. Rahman, L. Melcarne, J. Santos, B. Lobo, S. Bor, S. Yapali, D. Akyol, F.P. Sapmaz, Y.Y. Urun, T. Eskazan, A. Celebi, H. Kacmaz, B. Ebik, H.C. Binicier, M.S. Bugdayci, M.B. Yağcı, H. Pullukcu, B.Y. Kaya, A. Tureyen, İ. Hatemi, E.S. Koc, G. Sirin, A.R. Calıskan, G. Bengi, E.E. Alıs, S. Lukic, M. Trajkovska, K. Hod, D. Dumitrascu, A. Pietrangelo, E. Corradini, M. Simren, J. Sjölund, N. Tornkvist, U.C. Ghoshal, O. Kolokolnikova, A. Colecchia, J. Serra, G. Maconi, R. De Giorgio, S. Danese, P. Portincasa, A. Di Sabatino, M. Maggio, E. Philippou, Y.Y. Lee, D. Salvi, A. Venturi, C. Borghi, M. Zoli, P. Gionchetti, P. Viale, V. Stanghellini, G. Barbara. - In: GUT. - ISSN 0017-5749. - 72:3(2023 Mar), pp. 484-492. [10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328483]