Gastrointestinal symptoms related to COVID-19 in ileoanal pouch and stoma patients.

COVID-19 symptoms are often perceived as respiratory only. However, recent findings have shown that gastrointestinal symptoms are being reported in a significant number of patients, ranging from 17% to more than 50%, with some studies speculating that the figure may be even higher, but that it is under-reported and overlooked. Therefore, a hypothesis was put forward that gastrointestinal symptoms related to COVID-19 may make pouch or stoma function deteriorate or even mimic pouchitis symptoms in ileoanal pouches and gastroenteritis in stoma patients; the intention was to investigate this further and to test the hypothesis. A retrospective analysis of patients with a stoma or ileoanal pouch was conducted, including those who reported having gastrointestinal symptoms following a positive COVID-19 test in the preceding 4 years (2020-2024). It was anticipated that gaining insight into this topic can help improve care for this patient group.