Gastrointestinal Obstructions New Covid Symptoms

Mumbai, 13 March 2021:

City doctors have seen Covid-19 patients with newer and unusual symptoms, some not related to the respiratory system at all. Most, though, could be managed with conservative Covid treatment when detected early.

Surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala recently encountered four Covid cases where the patients presented with intestinal obstruction—blockage that prevents food or liquid from passing through the small or large intestine. All tested positive for Covid.

“The new coronavirus strains are showing varying gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal colicky pain and even subacute intestinal obstruction. We need to remain cautious,” said Lakdawala, adding the cases were referred to him as intestinal obstruction often require surgical intervention. Former KEM dean Dr Avinash Supe, who also heads the city’s Covid death audit committee, concurred that doctors are seeing diarrhoea as a recurrent symptom.

One of the four cases was a 37-year-old man who came to HN Reliance’s outpatient department complaining of a mild abdominal pain and inability to pass stools. A mandatory Covid test found him to be positive. The patient was admitted to SevenHills Hospital. Dr Pranav Mehrotra from Reliance Hospital, who diagnosed the case, said he was treated with antivirals.

Intensivist Dr Kedar Toraskar, also a member of the state task force, said many are coming with non-pulmonary involvements. “We have seen some come with frontal headaches. Often there is no high-grade fever,” he said. Although, a clear change is the infection affecting multiple members of a family together, he said. The hospital’s Covid ward has 70 patients and the ICU is nearly full.

Dr Tanu Singhal, an infectious disease specialist from Kokilaben Hospital, said there is definitely a shift in the severity of the disease from the cases seen in 2020. “In serious patients, we are seeing more involvement of the kidney. However, we are also observing that the sick patients respond sooner. One indicator being their oxygen dependence, which comes down sooner,” she said. Some physicians, though, said the dominant symptoms have not seen any remarkable change. Physician Dr Pratit Samdani said the predominant signs are still high fever, bodyache and cough. “If people have fever for 2 days, they should just get tested for Covid without delay,” said Dr Niteen Karnik, head of medicine at Sion Hospital.The Times Of India