Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
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.

PubMed Disclaimer

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.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Fretzayas A, Moustaki M, Liapi O, Karpathios T. Gilbert syndrome. Eur J. Pediatrics. (2012) 171:11. 10.1007/s00431-011-1641-0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aiso M, Yagi M, Tanaka A, Miura K, Miura R, Arizumi T, et al. . Gilbert syndrome with concomitant hereditary spherocytosis presenting with moderate unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Int Med. (2017) 56:661–4. 10.2169/internalmedicine.56.7362 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ha VH, Jupp J, Tsang RY. Oncology drug dosing in gilbert syndrome associated with UGT 1A1: a summary of the literature. Pharmacotherapy. (2017) 37:956–72. 10.1002/phar.1946 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Maruhashi T, Soga J, Fujimura N, Idei N, Mikami S, Iwamoto Y, et al. . Hyperbilirubinemia, augmentation of endothelial function, and decrease in oxidative stress in Gilbert syndrome. Circulation. (2012) 126:598–603. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.105775 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Kuraishy HM, Hussien NR, Al-Naimi MS, Al-Buhadily AK, Al-Gareeb AI, Lungnier C. Is ivermectin–azithromycin combination the next step for COVID-19? Biomed Biotechnol Res J. (2020) 4:101. 10.4103/bbrj.bbrj_103_20 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources