COVID-19 in a patient with pre-existing liver disease

Abstract

Although Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the clinical disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by respiratory symptoms predominantly, the liver is the main actor in the progression of the disease. Liver involvement exhibits various clinical manifestations from asymptomatic elevations of liver function test to severe hepatic decompensation. In cases of underlying liver failure, the clinical presentation may become more dramatic and requires priority in the management. Treatment of these patients is troublesome due to the potential hepatotoxicity of agents used for the COVID-19. Data on COVID-19 patients having pre-existing liver failure conflicts, and whether these patients are more susceptible to the infection remain unclear. However, in patients with advanced chronic liver failure, the virus can critically compromise survival and result in negative consequences. Here, we present the critical management of a COVID-19 patient having pre-existing cirrhosis and review the current issues.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.