AUTHOR=Xu Zhijie , Tang Meiwen , Chen Ping , Cai Hongyu , Xiao Fei 

TITLE=SARS-CoV-2 Gastrointestinal Infection Prolongs the Time to Recover From COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.683551

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.683551

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> We previously reported that SARS-CoV-2 infects the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of SARS-CoV-2 GI infection on clinical outcomes of COVID-19.</p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> For this retrospective cohort study, 104 patients with COVID-19 were classified into a SARS-CoV-2 GI infection group and a non-infection group. The primary endpoint was the time of negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in respiratory tract samples. The secondary outcome was the time of hospitalization for COVID-19.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Patients with SARS-CoV-2 GI infection had a longer duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in respiratory tract samples (median 12.0 days [95% CI: 10.0–13.2] vs. 9.0 days [95% CI: 7.5–10.5]; HR 0.575 [95% CI: 0.386–0.857]; <italic>P</italic> = 0.003) and hospitalization (median 28.0 days [95% CI: 23.2–32.8] vs. 15.0 days [95% CI: 13.6–16.4]; HR 0.149 [95% CI: 0.087–0.252]; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001) than patients without SARS-CoV-2 GI infection. Subgroup analyses for sex, age, epidemiological history, clinical classification and antiviral treatment showed consistent results.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our study indicates that SARS-CoV-2 GI infection prolongs the duration of SARS-CoV-2 shedding and hospitalization in the patients with COVID-19. More attention should be paid to SARS-CoV-2 GI infection of COVID-19 and fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA test should be completed in time.</p>