Gastrointestinal sequalae months after severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 infection: a prospective, observational study

Abstract

The presence of gastrointestinal sequelae 7 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection is significantly higher in patients with moderate-to-severe course of the acute COVID-19 compared with asymptomatic patients or those with mild course of the disease. The most prevalent post-COVID gastrointestinal symptoms are diarrhea and abdominal pain. The strongest predictors for persistence of these symptoms are antibiotics administration and acute diarrhea during the initial infection.