Symptom Profiles and Risk Factors for Hospitalization in Patients With SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: A Large Cohort From South America

The pandemic caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause several gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. A recent systematic review showed a prevalence of GI symptoms in 17.6%. The most frequent manifestations were anorexia (26.8%), diarrhea (12.5%), nausea/vomiting (10.2%), and abdominal pain (9.2%),1 and recent reports showed the detection of viral RNA in stools for prolonged periods (70.3%).1 We established the frequency and impact of GI symptoms, and viral presence in stools among Chilean patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.