Gastroparesis and Gastrointestinal Dysmotility following COVID-19 Infection

[摘要] Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is primarily a respiratory illness but can affect different organ systems. Short-term and long-term effects related to the gastrointestinal tract are emerging as the pandemic continues. Case Report: We report the case of a 71-year-old woman who presented with persistent nausea, epigastric pain, early satiety, constipation, and weight loss one month after recovering from COVID-19 infection. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis revealed no abnormalities. Barium swallow showed severe dysmotility, but esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy was non-revealing. She could not tolerate a gastric emptying study due to the severity of symptoms. She did not improve with traditional antiemetics and proton-pump inhibitors but reported significant improvement in symptoms after adding metoclopramide to her regimen. Conclusion: Post-viral gastroparesis is associated with a number of viral infections. To our knowledge, this is the first case to identify COVID-19 as a potential etiology for post-infectious gastroparesis and gastric dysmotility.

[学科分类] 生理学

[关键词] COVID-19;Esophageal Dysmotility;Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders;Gastrointestinal Tract;Gastroparesis.