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Case Reports
. 2021 Feb 17:8:642181.
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.642181. eCollection 2021.

Case Report: Hyperbilirubinemia in Gilbert Syndrome Attenuates Covid-19-Induced Metabolic Disturbances

Hayder M Al-Kuraishy  1 , Ali I Al-Gareeb  1 , Saleh M Abdullah  2 , Natália Cruz-Martins  3   4   5 , Gaber El-Saber Batiha  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Case Report: Hyperbilirubinemia in Gilbert Syndrome Attenuates Covid-19-Induced Metabolic Disturbances

Hayder M Al-Kuraishy et al. Front Cardiovasc Med. .

Abstract

Gilbert syndrome (GS) is a liver disorder characterized by non-hemolytic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. On the other hand, Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is a recent viral infectious disease presented as clusters of pneumonia, triggered by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Little is known on the association between SARS-CoV-2 and GS, despite different studies have recently stated a link between hyperbilirubinemia and SARS-CoV-2 severity. In this case-report study we described a 47-year-old man, a known case of GS since the age of 4, presented to the emergency department with fever (39.8°C), dry cough, dyspnea, headache, myalgia, sweating and jaundice diagnosed with Covid-19-induced pneumonia. Interestingly, GS patient exhibited a rapid clinical recovery and short hospital stay compared to other SARS-CoV-2 positive patient, seeming that hyperbilirubinemia may exert a protective effect of against Covid-19 induced-cardiometabolic disturbances. Data obtained here underlines that the higher resistance against Covid-19 evidenced by the GS patient seems to be due to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects of unconjugated bilirubin.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; gilbert syndrome; hyperbilirubinemia; metabolic disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chest X-ray and CT scan imaging showed bilateral ground-glass appearance; (A) Covid-19 patients only, (B) Covid-19 patients with Gilbert syndrome.
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