Although respiratory symptoms were predominant in patients infected with COVID-19, gastrointestinal symptoms were always reported in about 10% patients. Previous studies demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus still persists in stool samples for a long time after initial infection. Moreover, some patients had a longer duration of COVID-19-related gastrointestinal symptoms, which was defined as "post-acute COVID-19 syndrome". Previous studies have shown that functional gastrointestinal disorders may occur after acute gastroenteritis. Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders. FD was reported to be correlated with multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, including GI bacterial imbalance, disordered gut microbiota, and disturbed barrier and immune function. It is unknown whether COVID-19 infection could exacerbate the symptoms of FD. Therefore, we followed up a group of FD patients before and after COVID-19 and investigate the impact of COVID-19 infection on the symptoms of FD.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
200
Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
RECRUITINGa score of 1 or 2 (extremely worse) on a 7-Likert scale assessing dyspepsia symptom change
The patients were interviewed to answer the question "Compared with condition before infection, how about is your gut condition now?" The following questions were chosen: (1) extremely worse, (2) worse, (3) slightly worse, (4) same as before, (5) slightly better, (6) better or (7) much better.
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
Global Overall Symptom score (GOSS)
The GOSS consists of 10 cardinal items (epigastric pain, epigastric discomfort, Heartburn, acid regurgitation, upper abdominal bloating, belching, nausea, early satiety, postprandial fullness, other epigastric symptoms(eg. epigastric burning). Each item can be scored from 1 (no) to 7 (worst).
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
subtypes of functional dyspepsia
functional dyspepsia was classified into three subgroups：(1) Postprandial Distress Syndrome, defined as Bothersome postprandial fullness or/and Bothersome early satiation. (2) Bothersome epigastric pain AND/OR Bothersome epigastric burning. (3) mixed syndrome, defined when postprandial distress syndrome and epigastric pain syndrome presented simultaneously.
Time frame: 6 months
self-reported severity of symptoms by patients
patients rated the severity of FD as mild, moderate, and severe
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
Other gastrointestinal symptoms
Recurrent lower abdominal pain， dysphoria， altered bowel habit， stool character change， etc.
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
Short Form of Nepean Dyspepsia Index (SF-NDI)
The SF-NDI consists of 10 questions regarding the effects of dyspepsia symptoms ("stomach problems") on different aspects of life (tension, interference with daily activities, eating/drinking, knowledge/control, and work/study). Each response can be from 1 (not at all affected) to 5 (extremely affected), or 0 (N/A), for a total summed score out of 50.
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
Hospital anxiety and depression scale
Anxiety and depression of patients are assessed by using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.It contains 14 items (7 anxiety and 7 depression), which assess symptoms experienced during the past week on a 0-3 scale. A subscore of \> 8 for depression or anxiety would indicate a clinical case.
Time frame: 1month, 3 months, 6 months
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