Gastrointestinal symptoms during and after COVID-19 Infection [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gastrointestinal symptoms during and after COVID-19 Infection
IRAS ID
283444
Contact name
Andrew Poullis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
There is increasing evidence that COVID-19 can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, and the virus can be detected in the faeces of convalescing COVID-19 patients, even after disease symptoms have resolved and pharyngeal smear tests become negative. Liver function test abnormalities have also been described in acute COVID-19, however the dynamics of the liver function test normalization has not been described to date.\n\nIt has previously been described that enteric pathogens (causes of gastroenteritis) may trigger a post infective irritable bowel syndrome, thought to affect up to 25% of individuals following an episode of gastroenteritis. It is currently unknown if this phenomenon occurs following COVID-19 infection.\n\nThis study will investigate and describe the gastrointestinal symptoms during acute COVID-19 infection and whether this leads to long term symptoms. In addition, the frequency of abnormal liver blood tests will be studied, along with timescale to normalisation. Routinely collected laboratory parameters and clinical information held in the electronic patient record will also be reviewed to identify if any markers of acute COVID-19 severity (such as intensive care admission or the degree of inflammatory response) are predictive of gastrointestinal symptoms and liver blood test abnormalities, and their persistence after the acute illness has resolved.\n\nThis study will use convenience sampling from a list of all adults identified to have tested positive for COVID-19 by the St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust microbiology laboratory. Clinical information and blood results will be extracted from the electronic patient record of patients consenting to participate, and participants will also be asked to complete 3 secure online surveys (at 0, 6 and 12 months after diagnosis), containing quantitative information on gastrointestinal symptoms. No clinical interventions will take place during this study, and participants will not be exposed to any additional harm or benefit as a result of their participation.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0143
Date of REC Opinion
29 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion