Correlation of Abdominal Findings with Inflammatory Markers in Patients with COVID-19

Objective: Present the abdominal findings of patients who were admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 infection and had abdominal pain to demonstrate the relationship between the severity and prognosis of the disease and inflammatory parameters and discuss this relationship in the light of the literature. Study Design: Retrospective study. Place and Duration of Study: General Surgery Clinic, Kartal Dr Lutfi Kirdar City Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey. From April 2020 to December 2020. Methods: We examined the relationships between demographic characteristics, thoracic and abdominal findings (bowel wall abnormalities, intra-abdominal fluid, and bile stasis), CRP, D-dimer, length of hospital stay, need for intensive care, and mortality. Results: Of 60 patients positive for COVID-19, 35 were male (58%), 25% were female (42%). The mean length of hospital stay was 8.8 days (range 3 to 37 days). The relationship between advanced age and the need for intensive care was found to be significantly high (p<0.05). In 30 (90.9%) of 33 (55%) patients with abdominal wall abnormalities, D-dimer was >500 ng/ml which was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The association between lung involvement and mortality was found to be significantly high (p<0.05). Conclusion: We believe that multiorgan pathologies caused by thrombosis and risky surgery can be prevented by starting medical therapy with hydration, steroids, anticoagulants, and antiaggregants in patients with COVID-19 who develop abdominal symptoms and have high D-dimer and CRP levels without any clear contraindication in the early period due to the increased risk of thrombosis. Key Words: COVID-19 infection, abdominal pain, D-dimer, C-reactive protein