European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: As the countries all around the globe grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Varied presentation of the disease is posing a challenge to every medical department. In the emergency room, most encountered complaints other than dry cough, breathlessness, and malaise is generalized abdominal pain. Stabbing headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting are a few extrapulmonary symptoms that are usually found. Abdominal pain is commonly ignored in comparison to respiratory symptoms. Therefore, in this study, we focus on abdominal symptoms and study these presentations in relation to Covid-19.
Methods: Convenient sampling method will be used to collect data. All the patients coming to the surgical emergency department with pain abdomen will be subjected to an RTPCR test for the diagnosis of COVID 19. Patients with positive test results will be included in the study after obtaining informed consent. The patients will be clinically examined, and relevant investigations X-ray/USG/CT will be carried out to arrive at a diagnosis and cause of pain abdomen.
Results: The most important clinical signs and symptoms of the patients include pain abdomen in 100% of cases followed by nausea and vomiting in 38.46% of cases, diarrhea in 30.77% of cases. Bloating/belching and backache in 19.23% cases, abdominal distension in 11.53% cases, and loss of appetite in 7.69% cases. All the n=26(100%) cases in this study were subjected to RTPCR for COVID-19 on admission to the surgical emergency ward and 100% of cases were found to be negative for COVID-19.
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 virus is known to produce one or more severe GI symptoms which may be treated as a surgical emergency. The cases of acute abdominal emergencies included in the study were found to be negative for COVID-19 by RTPCR. The present study did not find any correlation of COVID-19 with the pain abdomen and surgical emergency.