Clinical diagnosis of the first cases of extrapulmonary (GIT) COVID-19 in Thi-Qar, south of Iraq

Abstract

Faez Khalaf MD, Minen Al-Kafajy, PhD, Ali Abdulbaqi Ali Ismael MD, Firas Abdullah Al-Baghdadi MD

An outburst of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that began in Wuhan, China, has blowout speedily, with cases nowadays established in numerous nations. Although COVID-19 is utmost well-known for creating substantial respiratory signs, it can also result in numerous extrapulmonary appearances. These situations include thrombotic difficulties, myocardial dysfunction and arrhythmia, acute coronary illness, acute kidney and gastrointestinal indications, hepatocellular damage, high blood sugar and ketosis, neurologic illnesses, ocular symptoms, and dermatologic complications. In our research, we documented the first cases of COVID-2019 infection in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) in Thi-Qar city, south of Iraq. We categorized the patient’s initial mild symptoms of the disease course with expansion to extrapulmonary symptoms in about a week after the illness. We described the diagnosis and laboratory tests of the cases. From 130 COVID-19 positive cases, there was 110 cases has both pulmonary and digestive signs, while, only 20 has display digestive signs alone. Our positive cases have shown increased level of ferritin, D-dimmer and IgM serum level. In conclusion, our data urge the importance of close collaboration between clinicians, laboratory scientist and government authorities, as well as the urgent need for rapid spreading of clinical statistics linked to the care of Iraqi patients with this evolving novel viral infection