Table 1.
Demographic Characteristics, Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19–Positive Patients Presenting With GI Symptoms Compared With No GI Symptoms
| All (N = 2804) | GI Symptoms (n = 1084) | No GI symptoms (n = 1720) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at diagnosis, y | ||||
| Mean ± SD | 63.4 ± 18.4 | 61.4 ± 17.9 | 64.6 ± 18.6 | <.01 |
| Median (interquartile range) | 65.4 (51.6–77.4) | 63.0 (50.5–73.7) | 67.1 (52.8–78.6) | <.01 |
| Distribution | ||||
| 18–39 y | 390 (14) | 163 (15) | 227 (13) | |
| 40–59 y | 636 (23) | 288 (27) | 348 (20) | <.01 |
| 60–74 y | 953 (34) | 378 (35) | 575 (34) | |
| 75+ y | 825 (29) | 255 (23) | 570 (33) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 1239 (44) | 495 (46) | 743 (43) | .18 |
| Male | 1565 (56) | 588 (54) | 977 (57) | |
| BMI | ||||
| <18 kg/m2 | 46 (2) | 16 (2) | 30 (2) | |
| 18–25 kg/m2 | 514 (18) | 175 (16) | 339 (20) | |
| 25–30 kg/m2 | 748 (27) | 317 (29) | 431 (25) | <.01 |
| >30 kg/m2 | 814 (29) | 356 (33) | 458 (27) | |
| Unknown | 682 (24) | 220 (20) | 462 (27) | |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 330 (12) | 130 (12) | 200 (12) | |
| Hispanic | 1203 (43) | 475 (44) | 728 (42) | |
| Black | 585 (21) | 225 (21) | 360 (21) | .63 |
| Asian | 36 (1) | 10 (1) | 26 (1) | |
| Unknown | 650 (23) | 244 (23) | 406 (24) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 1552 (56) | 616 (57) | 936 (55) | .30 |
| Diabetes | 1033 (37) | 403 (37) | 630 (37) | .87 |
| Coronary disease | 311 (11) | 109 (10) | 202 (12) | .17 |
| Asthma/COPD/ILD | 461 (17) | 196 (18) | 265 (16) | .08 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 288 (10) | 110 (10) | 178 (10) | .82 |
| Cancer | 219 (8) | 93 (9) | 126 (7) | .25 |
| Congestive heart failure | 227 (8) | 83 (8) | 144 (8) | .47 |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 211 (8) | 65 (6) | 146 (9) | .01 |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 55 (2) | 26 (2) | 29 (2) | .20 |
| Iron deficiency anemia | 132 (5) | 50 (5) | 82 (5) | .82 |
| Liver disease | 47 (2) | 22 (2) | 25 (1) | .26 |
| History of GI bleed | 32 (1) | 12 (1) | 20 (1) | .88 |
| Diverticular disease | 32 (1) | 25 (2) | 7 (0.5) | <.01 |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | 11 (0.4) | 2 (0.2) | 9 (0.5) | .16 |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | 10 (0.4) | 6 (0.6) | 4 (0.2) | .17 |
| Laboratory findings on admissiona | ||||
| White blood cell count, ×109/L | 7.4 (5.5–10.2) | 7.1 (5.3–9.5) | 7.7 (5.6–10.6) | <.01 |
| Lymphocyte count, ×109/L | 1.1 (0.7–1.5) | 1.1 (0.8–1.5) | 1.0 (0.7–1.5) | .04 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/h | 72 (49–97) | 68 (48–96) | 74 (50–98) | .06 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 121.7 (59.9–207.9) | 114 (59–194) | 126 (61–218) | .05 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L | 420 (312–581) | 403 (301–545) | 434 (317–606) | <.01 |
| Creatine kinase, U/L | 180 (86–407) | 176 (81–390) | 181 (92–422) | .07 |
| D-dimer, μg/mL | 1.4 (0.8–3.3) | 1.2 (0.7–2.4) | 1.6 (0.9–4.2) | <.01 |
| Ferritin, μg/L | 729 (360–1300) | 736 (357–1342) | 724 (363–1283) | .83 |
| COVID-19 treatments during admission | ||||
| Steroids | 599 (21) | 233 (21) | 366 (21) | .89 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 1383 (49) | 583 (54) | 800 (47) | <.01 |
| Azithromycin | 1006 (36) | 417 (38) | 589 (34) | .02 |
| Remdesivir | 46 (2) | 25 (2) | 21 (1) | .03 |
| Tocilizumab | 46 (2) | 17 (2) | 29 (2) | .81 |
| Disease time course and outcomes | ||||
| Required intubation | 565 (20) | 184 (17) | 381 (22) | <.01 |
| Time to intubation, d | 1.2 (0.2–4.4) | 2.0 (0.6–4.8) | 0.9 (0.1–3.9) | <.01 |
| Death | 542 (19) | 147 (14) | 395 (23) | <.01 |
| Time to death, d | 5.4 (2.4–10.2) | 7.5 (4.1–12.3) | 4.9 (2.1–9.2) | <.01 |
NOTE. Values are n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise indicated.
BMI, body mass index; COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; GI, gastrointestinal; ILD, interstitial lung disease; SD, standard deviation.
a
For patients with specific laboratory values available: white blood cell count: n = 2579; lymphocyte count: n = 2078; erythrocyte sedimentation rate: n = 1862; C-reactive protein: n = 1996; lactate dehydrogenase : n = 1973; creatine kinase: n = 1717; D-dimer: n = 170; ferritin: n = 1956