The digestive tract, like the respiratory organs, is the entrance gate for SARS-CoV-2. At the same time, diarrhea is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms among infected people. As the debut of COVID-19 clinical manifestations, diarrhea can be associated both with the direct cytopathic effect of the virus on the intestinal mucosal epithelium and with the gut microbiota modulation. During the period of the expanded clinical picture of COVID-19, diarrhea syndrome is commonly associated with the adverse event of drug therapy, primarily antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antiviral agents, antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants, as well as with possible involvement in the pathological process of the liver and pancreas with a violation of their functional activity. Finally, after the infection, the repeated occurrence of diarrhea requires the exclusion of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, including those caused by Clostridium difficile, as well as ischemic colitis and post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Besides, despite the pandemic, it should not be forgotten about the possible debut of gastrointestinal disorder or an exacerbation of already existing chronic pathology. The article presents a brief algorithm for the differential diagnosis of diarrhea in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: diarrhea, COVID-19 pandemic, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, ischemic colitis, post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. FOR CITATION: Gaus O.V., Livzan M.A. Diarrhea syndrome: new accents of patient curation during COVID-19 pandemic. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(6):446–452 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-6-446-452.
Diarrhea syndrome: new accents of patient curation during COVID-19 pandemic
