Alberca GGF, Solis-Castro RL, Solis-Castro ME, Alberca RW. Coronavirus disease–2019 and the intestinal tract: An overview. World J Gastroenterol 2021; 27(13): 1255-1266 [PMID: 33833480 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i13.1255]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ricardo Wesley Alberca, PhD, Academic Research, Research Fellow, Laboratorio de Dermatologia e Imunodeficiencias (LIM-56), Departamento de Dermatologia, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, 455-Cerqueira César, São Paulo 01246-903, Brazil. ricardowesley@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 7, 2021; 27(13): 1255-1266 Published online Apr 7, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i13.1255
Coronavirus disease–2019 and the intestinal tract: An overview
Gabriela Gama Freire Alberca, Rosa Liliana Solis-Castro, Maria Edith Solis-Castro, Ricardo Wesley Alberca
Gabriela Gama Freire Alberca, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences-University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
Rosa Liliana Solis-Castro, Departamento Académico de Biología Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Tumbes, Pampa Grande 24000, Tumbes, Peru
Maria Edith Solis-Castro, Departamento Académico de Medicina Humana, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Tumbes, Pampa Grande 24000, Tumbes, Peru
Ricardo Wesley Alberca, Laboratorio de Dermatologia e Imunodeficiencias (LIM-56), Departamento de Dermatologia, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, Brazil
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the conception, writing, and review of the article and approved the submitted version.
Supported byRWA holds a fellowship from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), No. 19/02679-7.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare having no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ricardo Wesley Alberca, PhD, Academic Research, Research Fellow, Laboratorio de Dermatologia e Imunodeficiencias (LIM-56), Departamento de Dermatologia, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, 455-Cerqueira César, São Paulo 01246-903, Brazil. ricardowesley@gmail.com
Received: January 20, 2021 Peer-review started: January 20, 2021 First decision: February 9, 2021 Revised: February 10, 2021 Accepted: March 8, 2021 Article in press: March 8, 2021 Published online: April 7, 2021
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can progress to a severe respiratory and systemic disease named coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19). The most common symptoms are fever and respiratory discomfort. Nevertheless, gastrointestinal infections have been reported, with symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2 can remain positive in fecal samples after nasopharyngeal clearance. After gastrointestinal SARS-CoV-2 infection and other viral gastrointestinal infections, some patients may develop alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota. In addition, some COVID-19 patients may receive antibiotics, which may also disturb gastrointestinal homeostasis. In summary, the gastrointestinal system, gut microbiome, and gut-lung axis may represent an important role in the development, severity, and treatment of COVID-19. Therefore, in this review, we explore the current pieces of evidence of COVID-19 gastrointestinal manifestations, possible implications, and interventions.
Core Tip: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can progress to a severe respiratory and systemic disease named coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19). Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 can also generate a gastrointestinal infection. In this review, we explore the impact of COVID-19 on the gastrointestinal system, gut microbiome, and the gut-lung axis and the severity and possible implications and interventions in COVID-19 patients.
