Du Li, Cao Xiaoling, Chen Jing, Wei Xiuqi, Zeng Yi, Cheng Chen, Lin Yuqi, Tan Wenbin, Wang Hui
Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
J Clin Lab Anal. 2021 Jan;35(1):e23626. doi: 10.1002/jcla.23626. Epub 2020 Oct 15.
Gastrointestinal infections (GI) and urological infections (UI) have not been fully addressed in COVID-19 patients. We aimed to evaluate the values of routine fecal occult blood (FOB) test and urinary cytology test (UCT) for screening of GI and UI in COVID-19 patients.
In this retrospective study, COVID-19 patients without associated comorbidities were divided into FOB- or UCT-positive or FOB- or UCT-negative groups. Their clinical characteristics and laboratory findings were then compared.
A total of 13.6% of patients (47 of 345) tested positive for FOB, and 57.4% (27 of 47) of these patients lacked gastrointestinal symptoms. A total of 30.1% of patients (104 of 345) exhibited gastrointestinal symptoms, and 38.0% (131 of 345) were positive for either FOB or gastrointestinal symptoms. FOB-positive patients possessed significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein and fewer lymphocytes than FOB-negative patients. A total of 36.9% of patients (80 of 217) exhibited positive UCT, and 97.5% (78 of 80) of these patients possessed normal levels of serum markers for renal injuries. Significant differences in age and sex ratios were observed between the UCT-positive and UCT-negative groups, and 72.4% (42 of 58) of female patients over 60 years old were UCT-positive.
Fecal occult blood test in combination with gastrointestinal symptoms could serve as a simple and useful screening approach for GI diagnoses for COVID-19. Age and sex are risk factors for UI in COVID-19 patients. UCT could be a sensitive tool for assessing early UI at a stage in which serum markers for renal injuries appear normal.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）患者的胃肠道感染（GI）和泌尿系统感染（UI）尚未得到充分研究。我们旨在评估常规粪便潜血（FOB）试验和尿细胞学检查（UCT）在COVID-19患者中筛查GI和UI的价值。
在这项回顾性研究中，无相关合并症的COVID-19患者被分为FOB或UCT阳性组或FOB或UCT阴性组。然后比较他们的临床特征和实验室检查结果。
共有13.6%的患者（345例中的47例）FOB检测呈阳性，其中57.4%（47例中的27例）患者无胃肠道症状。共有30.1%的患者（345例中的104例）出现胃肠道症状，38.0%（345例中的131例）FOB或胃肠道症状呈阳性。FOB阳性患者的C反应蛋白水平显著高于FOB阴性患者，淋巴细胞数量则更少。共有36.9%的患者（217例中的80例）UCT呈阳性，其中97.5%（80例中的78例）患者的肾损伤血清标志物水平正常。UCT阳性组和UCT阴性组在年龄和性别比例上存在显著差异，60岁以上女性患者中有72.4%（58例中的42例）UCT呈阳性。
粪便潜血试验结合胃肠道症状可作为COVID-19患者GI诊断的一种简单且有用的筛查方法。年龄和性别是COVID-19患者发生UI的危险因素。在肾损伤血清标志物显示正常的阶段，UCT可能是评估早期UI的敏感工具。
