INFLUENCE OF INTESTINAL INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ON GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19

COVID-19 is characterized by pulmonary involvement, which has generated a large number of hospitalizations and studies worldwide, motivating researchers in search of a possible treatment and development of vaccines for the disease. However, other symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 were less relevant in relation to studies published to date. Thus, there is a need to establish a relationship between patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and the symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract caused by COVID-19, since the involvement of the gastrointestinal tract affects up to 53% of patients who contract SARS-CoV-2 . In this perspective, the present study is an integrative review carried out at the Virtual Health Library and PubMed based on the health descriptors: gastrointestinal diseases and COVID-19, applying the Boolean operator “AND” between them. The selection criteria used were the eligibility criteria: articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, published between December 2019 and July 2020. Individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases, even with greater expression of ACE2, are not at increased risk of symptoms or worsening. Thus, based on the relationship between pre-existing symptoms and the symptoms of the new COVID-19, health professionals, based on their clinical experience, will be able to compose prophylactic measures and manage patients with COVID-19 and gastrointestinal symptoms more effectively.