Impact of COVID-19 on the Gastrointestinal Tract: A Clinical Review
Haider Ghazanfar, Sameer Kandhi, Dongmin Shin, Aruna Muthumanickam, Hitesh Gurjar, Zaheer Qureshi, Mohammed Samer Shaban, Mohamed Farag, Asim Haider, Pravash Budhathoki, Tanushree Bhatt, Ali Ghazanfar, Abhilasha Jyala, Harish Patel
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly throughout the world, causing a pandemic that has resulted in more than 5 million deaths globally. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is known to have high expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors in the human body, making it prone to direct damage from the cellular invasion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Numerous GI symptoms have been reported among patients with COVID-19. This systemic review details the mechanism and effects of COVID-19 on the GI tract along with the hepatobiliary and pancreatic systems.