Ulcerative Colitis in a COVID-19 Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

COVID-19 pneumonia is a global viral disease and has been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The coronavirus that causes it can remain in the stool of some infected patients for a short period, even after recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia. Studies have increasingly reported the involvement of other organs, including the gastrointestinal system, in addition to the respiratory system. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease with an unknown cause. Emerging data suggest that the gas trointestinal system may be influenced by COVID-19 via the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2), but data on the association between COVID-19 and inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis, are lacking. In this report, we describe a case of ulcerative colitis diagnosed in a 50-year-old male patient who presented with complaints of bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain following the completion of treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia. It is possible for the novel coronavirus to trigger ulcerative colitis. Hence, patients presenting with gastrointestinal com plaints should also be evaluated for COVID-19.

Figure 1.

(A, B) Initial chest CT of the patient shows diffuse ground-glass opacities (red arrows).

Figure 2.

(A) Microulcerated, granulated, bloody mucosa; (B, C, and D) microulcerated, granulated mucosa on colonoscopic images. The submucosal vascular network cannot be distinguished.

Figure 3.

(A) Disrupted crypt structure and increased lymphoplasmacytic cells in the propria; (B) loss of goblet cells and a crypt abscess; (C) basal plasmacytosis.