Dr. Paul Glynne, a doctor at the London-based Physicians Clinic who treats Long COVID patients, has seen similar trends. In the non-hospitalized Long COVID group, we do see ongoing gastrointestinal symptoms, Dr. Glynne explained via email. Symptoms typically include food intolerances, altered bowel habit and nausea.
Nichols called it a red flag that the Northwell study included only patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19. Many Long COVID patients, Nichols included, were never admitted to the hospital or never even had a positive test resultbut they still experienced severe and persistent symptoms.
Focusing on hospitalized patients might skew GI study results in particular, Nichols said, because patients with severe diarrhea and nausea were not treated as COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic. Nichols suffered for months before doctors understood the cause of her symptoms. If she had been admitted to a hospital early on, she believes her treatment would have been more comprehensive.
Nichols also questioned the Northwell studys finding that over 90 percent of patients with GI symptoms had recovered within six months. Dr. Glynne additionally pointed out that this study was retrospective, meaning that the researchers looked backward at patients hospital records rather than actively monitoring their symptoms in real-time via a clinical trial setting.
Still, Nichols said that its helpful to have any study on GI symptoms because this class of symptoms has been understudied compared to respiratory symptoms and other COVID-19 manifestations. She and Dr. Rizvi both stressed that more clinicians should be educated on COVIDs GI symptoms so that patients can receive the treatment they need.
A lot of people may not realize that they even had an infection because they're looking only for respiratory [symptoms], Nichols said.
Once a Long COVID patient has recognized their symptoms, Dr. Rizvi said, its important to seek ongoing visits with relevant specialists. For those experiencing GI symptoms, specialists could include gastroenterologists, immunologists and nutritionists educated in Long COVID or similar chronic conditions, such as ME/CFS. These chronic outcomes also serve as more motivation for ending the pandemic as soon as possible.
[Long-term symptoms] are additional spurs to get vaccinated, Dr. Glatt said. Younger people might think, if they get COVID-19, theyd just have flu-like symptoms, he said. But in fact, the disease can be far more dangerous.
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Chronic Weight Loss And Malnutrition Join Devastating List Of Long COVID Symptoms - Gothamist
