S1344 Gastrointestinal Symptoms Among Patients Admitted With COVID-19 and its Relation to Outcome: A Multi-Center Retrospective Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused a major pandemic with almost 8 million people infected and over 400,000 deaths worldwide In this study, a retrospective chart review of COVID-19 patients that were either evaluated in the ED or admitted to the hospital were analyzed to characterize GI symptoms of COVID-19 and to determine if there was an association of GI symptoms with preexisting GI conditions or outcomes Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter cohort study involving a healthcare network of 9 hospitals in the Washington D C region Patients with COVID-19 that were either evaluated in the ED or admitted to the hospital in the Medstar health system between March 8 to April 15, 2020 were recruited in this study based on ICD-10 code Manual data extraction was performed including preexisting GI conditions, presenting symptoms, labs, past medical history, and outcomes Unfavorable outcomes were defined as either intubation, ICU admission or death Analysis was performed using Fischer's exact tests with 2 tailed P values RESULTS: There were total of 1084 patients identified and 1079 patients included in this study 47 5% (513) were male and 52 5% (566) were female with an average age of 55 3 years GI symptoms were present in 40 6% (438) of which diarrhea was the most common symptom (18 8%) followed by nausea (17 3%) and anorexia (14 7%) 25 patients presented with GI symptoms only Overall, there was no significant correlation between GI symptoms and unfavorable outcomes, P = 0 942, OR 1 019, 95% CI (0 76-1 35) although dyspepsia was positively correlated with death P = 0 029, OR = 7 19, 95% CI 1 66-30 95 There was no correlation between pre-existing GI conditions and the presence of GI symptoms (P = 0 34) or unfavorable outcomes (P = 0 32) CONCLUSION: GI symptoms were among the most common presenting symptoms in COVID-19;however, the presence of GI symptoms alone were rare There was no correlation of GI symptoms with intubation, ICU admission or death Dyspepsia, although rare, was significantly associated with death Pre-existing GI conditions were not related to either GI symptoms or unfavorable outcomes The presence of GI symptoms, although not a marker for prognosis, cannot be ignored in the inpatient COVID population as evidenced in this large retrospective study (Figure Presented)