[MCOH-EH] COVID-19: GI symptoms and co-morbidities

[Abhijay Karandikar]

1. Apart from screening for the usual respiratory symptoms, are you quarantining employees with GI symptoms in them or their family/contacts? If so, what symptom / symptom complex are you using? Are symptoms considered sufficiently reliable and prodromal to institute isolation? 

This is from the American College of Gastroenterology: "The incidence of GI symptoms including nausea and/or diarrhea are uncertain with some reports below 5% and others at 50%.  There have been some reports of isolated diarrhea preceding cough and fever. "

2. Similarly, for health systems that are restricting employees from working with COVID-19 patients based on co-morbidities eg. cardiovascular, diabetes, Hepatitis B, COPD, CKD, cancers, is this based on consensus, IP recommendations or do you have new/emerging data that you are willing to share? There have been e-mails on this list looking at respiratory conditions, pregnancy and immunosuppression as disqualifiers from working with COVID-19 patients. 

Thanks!

Stay safe and healthy everyone....

Abhijay

Abhijay P. Karandikar, MD, MPH, FACOEM