The digestive tract plays a key role in COVID-19, with the virus being found in patient stool samples, according to a study published in Gastroenterology.
A portion of COVID-19 patients have experienced diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal discomfort before respiratory symptoms emerge. Researchers suggested that clinicians monitor patients with gastrointestinal distress, because this early-stage monitoring could allow for earlier detection, diagnosis, isolation and intervention.
Another study showed the virus had been found in the stool of patients with COVID-19, and that the virus had even been found in the stool after it cleared the respiratory tract. Researchers urged clinicians to be mindful of potential fecal-oral transmission.
Click here to read more about potential fecal-oral transmission. Click here for evidence behind GI tract infection rates.