Etiology and management of liver injury in patients with COVID-19

Link to article at PubMed

World J Gastroenterol. 2020 Aug 28;26(32):4753-4762. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i32.4753.

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in global emergence. With the expansion of related research, in addition to respiratory symptoms, digestive system involvement such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea have also been reported with COVID-19. Besides, abnormal liver function is also frequent in biochemical tests of COVID-19 patients, which is correlated with the severity and mortality of the disease course. The etiology of liver injury in patients with COVID-19 might include viral immunologic injury, drug-induced liver injury, the systemic inflammatory response, hypoxic hepatitis, and the exacerbation of preexisting liver disease. Although liver injuries in COVID-19 are often transient and reversible, health workers need to pay attention to preexisting liver disease, monitor liver function, strengthen supportive treatment, and reduce the chance of drug-induced liver injury. This article reviews the epidemiological characteristics, etiology, management, and preventive strategies for liver injury in patients with COVID-19.

PMID:32921955 | PMC:PMC7459209 | DOI:10.3748/wjg.v26.i32.4753

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *