Features of gastroenterologist’s work in COVID‑19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of organic and functional pathology at an outpatient appointment with a gastroenterologist before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. An assessment of 428 outpatient clinical cases over two periods was carried out. The analysis revealed a significant increase in functional gastrointestinal pathology. During the first study period, 36% of all applied patients had functional gastrointestinal diseases, in the second period the number of patients increased to 57%.The results obtained allow us to conclude that, despite the fact that COVID-19 affects the digestive organs along with the respiratory tract, the forced isolation that arose during the pandemic and general anxiety significantly increased the growth of the functional pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, which should be taken into account when developing treatment regimens and managing gastroenterological patients.