Table 2.
Clinical characteristics and selected laboratory abnormalities of patients with COVID-19 with and without GI symptoms
| Characteristic | GI symptoms (n=74) | No GI symptoms (n=577) | P value |
| Fever (Y) | |||
| Any | 63/74 (85.14%) | 482/577 (83.54%) | 0.867 |
| >38.5°C | 29/74 (39.19%) | 101/577 (17.50%) | <0.001 |
| Cough (Y) | 53/74 (71.62%) | 382/577 (66.20%) | 0.431 |
| Sputum production (Y) | 29/74 (39.19%) | 198/577 (34.32%) | 0.438 |
| Haemoptysis (Y) | 3/74 (4.05%) | 8/577 (1.39%) | 0.119 |
| Sore throat (Y) | 6/74 (8.11%) | 93/577 (16.12%) | 0.085 |
| Nasal obstruction (Y) | 2/74 (2.70%) | 35/577 (6.07%) | 0.419 |
| Muscle ache (Y) | 10/74 (13.51%) | 61/577 (10.57%) | 0.430 |
| Fatigue (Y) | 23/74 (31.08%) | 96/577 (16.64%) | 0.004 |
| Shortness of breath (Y) | 8/74 (10.81%) | 19/577 (3.30%) | 0.007 |
| Headache (Y) | 16/74 (21.62%) | 51/577 (8.84%) | 0.002 |
| Blood tests (Y) | |||
| Leucocytes (×109/L; normal range 4–10) | 4.85 (3.80–6.34) | 4.70 (3.76–5.90) | 0.406 |
| Neutrophils (×109/L; normal range 2–7) | 3.14 (2.60–4.70) | 2.90 (2.13–3.91) | 0.014 |
| Lymphocytes (×109/L; normal range 0.8–4) | 0.97 (0.73–1.30) | 1.20 (0.90–1.60) | 0.001 |
| Platelets (×109/L; normal range 83–303) | 183 (141–216) | 177 (146–218) | 0.559 |
| Haemoglobin (g/L; normal range: male 131–172, female 113–151) | 135.5 (127.0–149.3) | 138.0(128.0–151.0) | 0.395 |
| Haematocrit (%; normal range: male 38–50.8, female 33.5–45) | 39.40 (37.60–43.60) | 40.50 (37.35–43.95) | 0.339 |
| Coagulation function | |||
| International normalised ratio (normal range 0.85–1.15) | 1.03 (0.97–1.15) | 1.02 (0.97–1.08) | 0.145 |
| Blood biochemistry | |||
| Albumin (g/L; normal range 40–55) | 40.13 (35.95–42.60) | 41.50 (38.63–43.76) | 0.039 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (U/L; normal range 9–50) | 25.0 (15.75–38.47 | 21.5 (15.0–32.8) | 0.203 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (U/L; normal range 15–40) | 29.35 (20.87–38.62) | 24.4 (19.0–32.0) | 0.02 |
| Total bilirubin (umol/L; normal range 0–26) | 10.0 (7.15–13.8) | 9.6 (7.0–13.1) | 0.398 |
| Serum sodium (mmol/L; normal range 137–147) | 137.65 (134.98–139.30) | 138.33 (136.18–140.15) | 0.016 |
| Serum potassium (mmol/L; normal range 3.5–5.3) | 3.78 (3.50–4.10) | 3.83 (3.60–4.11) | 0.145 |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mmol/L; normal range 3.1–8) | 3.35 (2.75–4.50) | 3.80 (3.04–4.60) | 0.074 |
| Serum creatinine (umol/L; normal range: male 57–97, female 41–73) | 66.0 (56.20–75.25) | 66.0 (56.0–78.0) | 0.577 |
| Creatine kinase (U/L; normal range 50–310) | 73.0 (52.75–106.25) | 70.0 (47.0–107.0) | 0.287 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (U/L; normal range 120–250) | 229.0 (170.0–316.75) | 210.0 (169.0–257.50) | 0.127 |
| Glucose (mmol/L; normal range 3.9–6.1) | 5.95 (5.19–7.92) | 5.80 (5.0–7.04) | 0.144 |
| Infection-related biomarkers | |||
| Procalcitonin (ng/mL; normal range 0–0.5) | 0.06 (0.03–0.09) | 0.05 (0.04–0.07) | 0.589 |
| C reactive protein (mg/L; normal range 0–8) | 15.69 (4.81–23.95) | 7.90 (2.60–19.55) | 0.003 |
| Chest X-ray/CT findings | |||
| Normal | 8/74 (10.81%) | 64/577 (11.09%) | 0.942 |
| Unilateral pneumonia | 9/74 (12.16%) | 134/577 (23.22%) | 0.030 |
| Bilateral pneumonia | 31/74 (41.89%) | 217/577 (37.61%) | 0.525 |
| Multiple mottling and ground-glass opacity | 26/74 (35.14%) | 162/577 (28.08%) | 0.221 |
Data are presented as medians (IQR), n (%) and n/N (%). Y indicates yes for the symptoms.