VOLUME 24 , ISSUE 12 ( December, 2020 ) > List of Articles
Yashaswini Kenchappa, Maria Bukelo
Citation Information : Kenchappa Y, Bukelo M. Caught Off Guard with COVID-19 Bowel Gangrene: A Case Report. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020; 24 (12):1269-1271.
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23681
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 22-02-2021
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).
Background: Isolated and predominant gastrointestinal presentation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is reported less often. With evolving evidence that gastrointestinal tract can be a portal of entry, multiplication, primary site of affliction and symptomatic manifestation, and source of infectivity through prolonged fecal shedding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), it is essential that isolated gastrointestinal symptoms can also be a mode of presentation of this novel virus and illness. Case description: The index case is a 10-year-old female child who presented with acute onset abdominal pain. Emergency surgery showed extensive gangrenous small bowel. The small bowel had herniated into a transmesenteric defect near the mid-ileum and was obstructed. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV2 sent as preoperative work-up turned positive. The histopathology showed platelet aggregate thrombus in the venules with patent adjacent arterioles. Conclusion: This is probably the first reported case of COVID-19-related bowel gangrene.