Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have said that 10-15 per cent of Covid-19 patients suffer only from gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea rather than cough, breathlessness, and sore throat.

The doctors discussed Covid-19 symptoms at the National Grand Round, a virtual platform for doctors to discuss trends and treatments for the disease, Hindustan Times reported.

Discussing the impact of the infection on the organs, the doctors said that coronavirus patients are likely to suffer heart attack, stroke, clotting, and kidney or liver dysfunction.

Also read: Covid-19 causes hidden lung damage: Study

Dr Saurabh Kedia, assistant professor, department of gastroenterology AIIMS, said, as cited in the HT report: “...10 to 15 per cent of Covid-19 patients may present only gastrointestinal symptoms and no respiratory symptoms. It is, therefore, necessary to test those who have gastrointestinal symptoms for Covid-19 if they show any respiratory symptoms or if they have a history of contact with a positive patient.”

He added that the most occurring gastrointestinal symptoms include diarrhoea (2 to 50 per cent), appetite loss (30 to 40 per cent), hepatitis (14 to 53 per cent), digestive symptoms (3 to 23 per cent), and vomiting and nausea (1-12 per cent).

Elevated liver enzymes were also common in Covid-19 patients, with half the patients showing signs of it, said Dr Shalimar, additional professor at AIIMS.

Also read: Researchers reveal reason behind Covid-19 fatigue, headache, loss of smell and taste

Dr Neeraj Nischal, associate professor of medicine at AIIMS, presented the data of 540 individuals who suffered from Covid-19, excluding those with dengue and blood cancer, 27 per cent had low platelet count and 2.9 per cent severely low platelet count. Dengue and blood cancers can both lead to low platelet count.

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