Coronavirus disease 2019 infection presenting as acute abdomen: a case report

Abstract

Data from published epidemiological and virology studies around the world provide evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a lower incidence rate in children compared with adults. COVID-19 infection typical presentations include respiratory symptoms, such as cough, respiratory distress and hypoxia, fever, and dyspnea, which are considered the main symptoms of this novel disease in adults, but atypical presentations, especially in children, could be a diagnostic challenge. We report a child whose initial presentation was gastrointestinal, and in whom COVID-19 infection was confirmed, concluding that cases of mesenteric adenitis may be confusing and may mask this virus infections, and they should therefore be investigated in this respect. Earlier studies reported 15–16% of COVID-19-infected patients presented with gastrointestinal symptoms such asloss of appetite, nausea, vomiting,abdominal pain, diarrhea, and variable liver injury. Gastrointestinal symptoms may be associated with respiratory symptoms or without it. There are very few studies on COVID-19 infection in children, and there are uncertainties in the published papers. Thisarticle isabout a 5-year-old COVID-19-infected girl who presented with acute abdomen owing to mesenteric adenitis.