Computerized tomography scan findings of a patient with severe enterocolitis associated with the coronavirus disease 2019: a case report

Abstract Background: Currently, there is no available study about the occurrence of enterocolitis associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among adults. Case presentation: A 56-year-old man had lower abdominal pain, distension, diarrhea, and bloody stool. Moreover, the patient presented with fever and general fatigue. Laboratory examination did not reveal leukocytosis nor neutrophilia. However, the patient’s C-reactive protein level increased to 4.9 (normal range: 0.0–0.3) mg/dL. Both sputum and stool cultures had normal results. However, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed wall thickness mainly in the submucosal layer of the left part of the large intestine. Thus, real-time polymerase chain reaction test of throat swabs was performed for the diagnosis of COVID-19, and positive results were obtained. Conclusions: We report the first case of enterocolitis correlated to COVID-19, and the patient had positive abdominal CT scan findings. This imaging modality could be effective for the diagnosis of enterocolitis associated with COVID-19.