The Impact of COVID-19 Infection on the Symptoms of Functional Dyspepsia

Although respiratory symptoms were predominant in patients infected with COVID-19, gastrointestinal symptoms were always reported in about 10% patients. Previous studies demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus still persists in stool samples for a long time after initial infection. Moreover, some patients had a longer duration of COVID-19-related gastrointestinal symptoms, which was defined as "post-acute COVID-19 syndrome".Previous studies have shown that functional gastrointestinal disorders may occur after acute gastroenteritis. Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders. FD was reported to be correlated with multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, including GI bacterial imbalance, disordered gut microbiota, and disturbed barrier and immune function. It is unknown whether COVID-19 infection could exacerbate the symptoms of FD. Therefore, we followed up a group of FD patients before and after COVID-19 and investigate the impact of COVID-19 infection on the symptoms of FD.

Inclusion Criteria:aged ≥18 years oldPatients who met broad criteria of dyspepsia before infectionExclusion Criteria:organ failure defined by Marshall standardsevere psychiatric illnessessuspected or identified bowel obstructionknown malignancypregnancy or lactationunable to provide consent