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Review
. 2022 Jul-Aug;45(4):267-275.
doi: 10.1097/SGA.0000000000000676. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding in COVID-19 Patients: A Rapid Review

Alessandra Negro  1   2   3   4   5 , Giulia Villa  1   2   3   4   5 , Stefano Rolandi  1   2   3   4   5 , Alberto Lucchini  1   2   3   4   5 , Stefano Bambi  1   2   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Gastrointestinal Bleeding in COVID-19 Patients: A Rapid Review

Alessandra Negro et al. Gastroenterol Nurs. 2022 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

The incidence of COVID-19 gastrointestinal manifestations has been reported to range from 3% to 61%. There are limited data on the incidence rates and risk factors associated with gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in patients with COVID-19. A rapid review has been designed to investigate whether there is a relationship between COVID-19 and GIB in adult patients. PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases have been analyzed. A total of 129 studies were found; 29 full texts were analyzed, and of these, 20 were found to be relevant to the topic. The key findings of the included studies present an overall GIB rate in COVID-19 patients ranging from 1.1% to 13%. The bleeding involves mucosal damage of the duodenum, stomach, colon, and rectum. The management of gastrointestinal bleeding could be conservative. The use of fecal diversion systems for the management of diarrhea in COVID-19 patients should be minimized and closely evaluated for the risk of rectal mucosal damages and erosions. It is recommended to provide an accurate nutritional assessment; an early setting up of enteral nutrition, if not contraindicated, can help protect the gut mucosa of patients and restore normal intestinal flora. Larger cohort studies are needed to increase the information about this topic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
PRISMA 2009 flow diagram. From “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement,” By D. Moher, A. Liberati, J. Tetzlaff, D. G. Altman, and the PRISMA Group, 2009, PLoS Medicine, 6(6), p. e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097. Copyright 2009 Moher et al. For more information, visit www.prisma-statement.org.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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