Clinical features of Japanese patients with gastrointestinal long-COVID symptoms

Kazuma Yagi; Takanori Asakura; Hideki Terai; Keiko Ohgino; Katsunori Masaki; Ho Namkoong; Shotaro Chubachi; Jun Miyata; Ichiro Kawada; Nobuhiro Kodama; Satoshi Sakamoto; Akira Umeda; Takashi Ishiguro; Makoto Ishii; Koichi Fukunaga

doi:10.1002/jgh3.13006

Clinical features of Japanese patients with gastrointestinal long-COVID symptoms

JGH Open. 2023 Dec 6;7(12):998-1002. doi: 10.1002/jgh3.13006. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Kazuma Yagi¹, Takanori Asakura^{1

2

3}, Hideki Terai^{1

4}, Keiko Ohgino¹, Katsunori Masaki¹, Ho Namkoong^{1

5}, Shotaro Chubachi¹, Jun Miyata¹, Ichiro Kawada^{1

6}, Nobuhiro Kodama⁷, Satoshi Sakamoto⁸, Akira Umeda⁹, Takashi Ishiguro¹⁰, Makoto Ishii^{1

11}, Koichi Fukunaga¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine Keio University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan.
² Department of Clinical Medicine (Laboratory of Bioregulatory Medicine) Kitasato University School of Pharmacy Tokyo Japan.
³ Department of Respiratory Medicine Kitasato University Kitasato Institute Hospital Tokyo Japan.
⁴ Keio Cancer Center Keio University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases Keio University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan.
⁶ Keio University Health Center Tokyo Japan.
⁷ Department of General Internal Medicine Fukuoka Tokushukai Hospital Fukuoka Japan.
⁸ Department of Respirology National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center Fukuoka Japan.
⁹ Department of General Medicine, School of Medicine IUHW Shioya Hospital, International University of Health and Welfare (IUHW) Yaita Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Respiratory Medicine Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center Kumagaya Japan.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Nagoya Japan.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) long-COVID symptoms, including diarrhea and abdominal pain, have been reported in patients with long-COVID. However, the clinical features of patients with GI long-COVID symptoms remain unclear. We conducted a large-scale prospective cohort study focusing on the clinical characteristics of patients with GI long-COVID symptoms in Japan. Among 943 COVID-19 patients, 58 patients (6.2%) had GI long-COVID symptoms. The health-related quality of life (QOL) parameters (the Short Form-8 [SF-8] and Euro Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 5 level [EQ-5D-5L]) at 12 months after diagnosis in patients with GI long-COVID symptoms were significantly lower than in those without GI long-COVID symptoms (P < 0.0001). Moreover, patients with GI long-COVID symptoms had more varied long-COVID symptoms compared to patients without GI long-COVID symptoms.

Keywords: gastrointestinal symptoms; health‐related quality of life; long‐COVID.