Pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection: what is the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) doing to body? A comprehensive systematic review

Abstract

Since December 2019, an emerging outbreak of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has begun from Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly throughout the world. This systematic review aimed to discuss the involvement of the body's systems during COVID-19 infection comprehensively. PubMed database was used to identify relative studies to be included in this review. Four authors searched PubMed independently using determined search terms. Then, the results were merged and duplicates were removed. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were specified and at least two review authors assessed the eligibility of the studies. The full texts of included studies were reviewed in detail by the authors and the relevant content was extracted and summarized. The pulmonary tract is the most frequent system involved with a wide range of involvement from no pneumonia to white lung and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Computed tomography is the best imaging modality to diagnose COVID-19 infection. Cardiac and renal system injuries are seen during COVID-19 infection and must be taken seriously. Gastrointestinal manifestations are frequently observed during the infection and are probably associated with more severe disease. The placenta acts as an important physiological and immunological barrier that prevents transplacental vertical transmission. COVID-19 infection is a multiorgan involving infection which needs a team of different expertise to diagnose and manage the disease. Although there are many studies available about COVID-19 infection, most of them are focused on pulmonary involvement and the effects of the virus on many other organs and systems remain unclear that shows the necessity of further investigations about the disease.