Relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and COVID-19 infection in the pediatric population: a scoping review.
Denise Desconsi, Juliane Pagliari Araujo, Marcela Demitto Furtado and 2 others
PMID 38743953WHAT IT FOUND
Children with COVID-19 in reviewed studies reported diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and anorexia; diarrhea was most common.
Gastrointestinal symptoms can be the main presentation, but this review maps patterns, not treatment effects.
Key findings
01The included pediatric studies reported gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, anorexia, constipation, semi-liquid stools, suppressed appetite, jaundice, abdominal distension, and rumination.
02In one included study, rectal swabs remained positive for SARS-CoV-2 after nasopharyngeal swabs became negative, suggesting possible gastrointestinal shedding.
03The review grouped explanations into three premises: ACE2-mediated gut entry, stress-related gut-brain-axis functional disorders, and pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only articles available in full and free of charge were included, so relevant studies behind paywalls may be missing. The search used nine databases, which may have limited the sources found. The review did not assess the quality or risk of bias of the included studies. The included studies were heterogeneous and included case reports and retrospective designs, so they describe patterns rather than prove causes or effects.
Declared interests
The article reports financial support from Universidade Estadual de Londrina and CAPES Funding Code 001. It does not state any commercial sponsor or author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a treatment for these symptoms works or that fecal-oral transmission is proven. The review maps symptom patterns and hypotheses from 10 heterogeneous pediatric studies, many retrospective or case reports, and it did not assess study quality.