The Commonest Medical, Surgical, and Oncological Causes of Acute Abdomen in Adults With COVID-19. A Prospective Observational Study.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause mild to severe respiratory infections. 2019-nCoV is a novel coronavirus that was discovered in Wuhan, China. Since its discovery in humans in late 2019, it has had a global, rapid spread. Dry cough, fever, and fatigue are the most common symptoms in the first two to 14 days after exposure. At the moment, it is unknown how common gastrointestinal symptoms are. However, COVID-19's initial clinical presentations have become more evident as the pandemic has progressed and case data has been gathered, and literature suggests that digestive symptoms are prevalent . In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 47 studies involving 10,890 patients with COVID-19, the pooled prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms were 7.7 % for diarrhea, 7.8% for nausea/vomiting, and 2.7% for abdominal pain. Only a few cases of isolated abdominal pain have been reported. A wide range of diseases can cause acute abdominal pain, and diagnosing them can be difficult. The examining physician should prioritize life-threatening conditions that may necessitate immediate surgical intervention with such a broad differential diagnosis to avoid further mortality or morbidity. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics, incidence, severity and of acute abdominal pain (medical and surgical causes) during the COVID-19 pandemic.