What gastroenterologists should know during COVID-19 Pandemic!

Gastroenterologists and COVID-19 pandemic

  • Lubna Kamani Liaquat National Hospital
Keywords: Corona virus, Gastrointestinal, Liver, COVID-19, Endoscopy

Abstract

The WHO has declared a Pandemic due to Novel Corona virus-19 (COVID-19). Patients usually have respiratory symptoms but gastrointestinal and hepatic dysfunction are not uncommon presentations and can lead to a delay in diagnosis and management. Virus shedding can continue even after the nasopharyngeal swab gets negative and could lead to faecal-oral transmission. The effects of COVID-19 on patients with decompensated liver disease is still not clear. Managing immunosuppressive drugs in liver transplant and inflammatory bowel disease is a major challenge without clear guidelines. Only emergency endoscopy is to be done with personal protection equipment. Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine has shown some beneficial effects and is being used off-label. Without effective treatment, it is imperative to take precautionary measures.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2651

How to cite this:
Kamani L. What gastroenterologists should know during COVID-19 Pandemic! Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(COVID19-S4):COVID19-S124-S125.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2651

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published
2020-05-19
How to Cite
Kamani, L. (2020). What gastroenterologists should know during COVID-19 Pandemic! Gastroenterologists and COVID-19 pandemic. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(COVID19-S4). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2651

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