Vadodara/ Surat: The coronavirus infection is not just attacking lungs but also impacting the digestive system badly.
Covid-19 has started infecting solid organs like liver, pancreas and gallbladder leading to hepatitis, pancreatitis and cholecystitis.
And, doctors across the state are also seeing a rise in cases of intestinal gangrene, which is turning fatal.
Doctors are reporting deaths due to this condition in elderly comorbid patients and in those where detections are late.
A greater number of Covid-19 recovered patients are coming up with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, acid reflux, vomiting and diarrhoea.
“The virus enters through the epithelium of the intestine and infects hollow viscous and travels through bloodstream to infect liver, pancreas and gallbladder causing inflammation or swelling that leads to hepatitis, pancreatitis and cholecystitis,” said Dr Nitin Patel, consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at Parul Sevashram Hospital, Vadodara.
“We have observed clotting within major abdominal vessels leading to ischemic colitis and subsequent gangrene of the intestine.
Delayed presentation with comorbidities, old age and use of steroids has high chances of mortality,” he said.
Dr Pankaj Khandelwal, Vadodara-based gastrointestinal surgeon, “There were emergencies of pancreatitis, colitis and intestinal gangrene where we had to remove the gangrenous part of the intestine.
Since, the numbers were more in second wave compared to the first wave, the cases were also more,” said “We had more patients with a lot of GI symptoms who were distressed by abdominal pain, significant acidity, stool disturbances, increased stool frequencies.
It was a very huge number,” he said.
Surgeon and advisor for Covid-19 in Vadodara Dr Sheetal Mistry said that he had seen three cases of pancreatitis in the second wave.
“Two of these patients had pancreatitis as a post-covid complication.
The third case came without any history of Covid treatment.
He was complaining of pain in the abdomen.
We got a Covid test done and it turned out positive,” he said.
Cases of Covid-induced cholecystitis and pancreatitis have been reported in Surat as well.
Doctors have also come across conditions wherein a thrombosis develops in intestinal veins leading to gangrene in the intestine.
“There are many cases of pancreatitis as well as cholecystitis which doctors in Surat have treated.
It increases the hospitalization period of the patients,” said gastroenterologist Dr Pallav Parikh.
(With inputs from Jay Pachchigar in Surat, Sachin Sharma in Vadodara)