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Review
. 2023 Aug 25:50:e20233576.
doi: 10.1590/0100-6991e-20233576-en. eCollection 2023.

Acute abdomen in patients with covid-19: an integrative review

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Manuela Izidio DE Lima  1 , Olival Cirilo Lucena DA Fonseca Neto  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Acute abdomen in patients with covid-19: an integrative review

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Manuela Izidio DE Lima et al. Rev Col Bras Cir. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Introduction: upon infection with SARS-CoV-2, patients presented with non-classical symptoms, such as gastrointestinal phenomena including loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain abdominal pain. These occurrences, typically, were found in severely affected patients with COVID-19. With this, the aim of this paper is to analyze the available knowledge on the development of acute abdomen in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.

Methodology: this is an Integrative Review in PubMed, Web of Science and VHL databases. The following descriptors were used: "Acute abdomen", "COVID-19", "Abdominal pain" and "SARS-CoV-2" with the Boolean operator "AND", and articles relevant to the theme were selected. Initially, 331 articles were selected, all published between 2020 and 2023, in Portuguese and/or English. After analysis, 11 articles matched the proposed objective.

Results: the relationship between tenderness in the right upper region or the presence of Murphy's sign contributed in the association between abdominal pain and the more severe forms of COVID-19 in infected patients. The number of diagnoses for acute conditions such as cholecystitis, appendicitis, diverticulitis and pancreatitis decreased with the pandemic, but at the same time there was an increase in the duration of surgical procedures and in the length of hospital stays. These acute abdominal conditions were the result of delayed demand for hospital care, which also contributed to an increase in the conversion rate to open surgery and in the number of perforative conditions.

Conclusion: the development of acute abdomen in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients was predictive of an unfavorable prognosis.

Introdução:: a partir da infecção com o SARS-CoV-2, os pacientes apresentaram sintomas não clássicos, como fenômenos gastrointestinais que incluem perda de apetite, náuseas, vômitos, diarréia e dores abdominais. Essas ocorrências, normalmente, foram encontradas em pacientes gravemente afetados pelo COVID-19. Com isso, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o conhecimento disponível sobre o desenvolvimento do abdome agudo em pacientes infectados pelo SARS-CoV-2.

Metodologia:: trata-se de uma Revisão Integrativa na base de dados PubMed, Web of Science e BVS. Foi utilizado os descritores: “Acute abdomen”, “COVID-19”, “Abdominal pain” e “SARS-CoV-2” com o operador booleano “AND”, e selecionados artigos de relevância para o tema. Inicialmente, foram selecionados 331 artigos, todos publicados entre 2020 e 2023, em português e/ou inglês. Após análise, 11 artigos corresponderam ao objetivo proposto.

Resultados:: a relação entre a sensibilidade na região superior direita ou a presença do sinal de Murphy contribuiu na associação entre dor abdominal e as formas mais graves do COVID-19 em pacientes infectados. O número de diagnósticos para quadros agudos como colecistite, apendicite, diverticulite e pancreatite tiveram diminuição com a pandemia, mas ao mesmo tempo houve aumento na duração dos procedimentos cirúrgicos e nos períodos de internações. Esses quadros de abdome agudo foram resultados da procura tardia de assistência hospitalar que colaborou, inclusive no aumento da taxa de conversão para a cirurgia aberta e no número de quadros perfurativos.

Conclusão:: o desenvolvimento do abdome agudo em pacientes infectados pelo SARS-CoV-2 foi preditor de um prognóstico desfavorável.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: no.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Screening of articles with the systematic review flowchart (PRISMA).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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