Real-World Evidence for COVID-19 Delta Variant’s Effects on the Digestive System and Protection of Inactivated Vaccines from a Medical Center in Yangzhou, China: A Retrospective Observational Study

• Published in: International journal of clinical practice (Esher) 2022, Vol.2022, p.7405448-9
• Main Authors: Zhao, Wenjing, Li, Yong, Xie, Ruijin, Dong, Yuying, Wei, Yan, Cheng, Ce, Lowe, Scott, Sun, Chenyu, Wang, Cunjin, Gao, Ju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alanine transaminase; Bilirubin; Biomarkers; Cardiovascular disease; China - epidemiology; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 vaccines; Cytokines; Diarrhea; Digestive System; Gastrointestinal Diseases - diagnosis; Hospitals; Humans; Illnesses; Infections; Interleukin 6; Kinases; L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Liver diseases; Medical records; Observational studies; Patients; Public health; Respiratory tract; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistical analysis; Vaccines; Vaccines, Inactivated - therapeutic use; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 1368-5031; 1742-1241; 1742-1241
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/7405448

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly disseminated worldwide, and it continues to threaten global public health. Recently, the Delta variant has emerged as the most dreaded variant worldwide. COVID-19 predominantly affects the respiratory tract, and studies have reported the transient effects of COVID-19 on digestive system function. However, the relationship between the severity of the Delta variant and digestive system function remains to be investigated. Additionally, data on the ability of the inactive Chinese vaccines (Sinovac or Sinopharm) to protect against the Delta variant or COVID-19-induced gastrointestinal symptoms in the real world are insufficient. Thus, the present retrospective observational study first attempted to use the total gastrointestinal symptom rating scale scores (GSRS) to quantify the possible changes in digestive system functions following the Delta variant infection in the early stage. In addition, the study discusses the potential of inactivated vaccines in preventing severe or critical symptoms or Delta variant-induced digestive system dysfunction. Methods. To evaluate the difference between mild illness group, moderate illness group, and severe or critical illness group, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare the three groups' total gastrointestinal symptom rating scale scores (GSRS). A chi-squared test was used to compare the differences in the ratio of the abnormal biochemical measurements among the three groups first. Then, the percentage of the vaccinated population was compared among the three groups. Additionally, the ratio of the abnormal serum markers between the vaccinated and nonvaccinated cohorts was compared. A P value