Early viral versus late antibiotic-associated diarrhea in novel coronavirus infection

Abstract

Diarrhea is one of the manifestations of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but it also develops as a complication of massive antibiotic therapy in this disease. This study aimed to compare these types of diarrhea. We included patients with COVID-19 in a cohort study and excluded patients with chronic diarrhea, laxative use, and those who died during the first day of hospitalization. There were 89 (9.3%), 161 (16.7%), and 731 (75.7%) patients with early viral, late antibiotic-associated, and without diarrhea, respectively. Late diarrhea lasted longer (6 [4–10] vs 5 [3–7] days, P 0.6 X 109 cells/L predicted the development of late diarrhea in the coming days (sensitivity 82.0%, specificity 70.8%, area under the curve = 0.791 [0.710–0.872]). Diarrhea in COVID-19 is heterogeneous, and different types of diarrhea require different management.