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
Review
. 2022 Aug;50(4):849-858.
doi: 10.1007/s15010-022-01804-z. Epub 2022 Mar 22.

SARS-CoV-2 infection: a hurricane that does not ignore chronic hepatitis

Caterina Sagnelli  1 , Margherita Macera  1 , Clarissa Camaioni  1 , Annabella Salvati  1 , Nicola Coppola  1 , Evangelista Sagnelli  2
Affiliations
Review

SARS-CoV-2 infection: a hurricane that does not ignore chronic hepatitis

Caterina Sagnelli et al. Infection. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly compromised screening, laboratory controls, clinical surveillance and treatment of chronic hepatitis patients and worsened their outcome, as evidenced by its significant correlation with advanced cirrhosis, liver decompensation and mortality.

Results: This pandemic significantly impaired also the sector of liver transplantation, whose wards, operating rooms, outpatients' facilities, and healthcare personnel have been dedicated to patients with COVID-19. In addition, screening and treatment for HBV infection have been delayed or suspended in in most countries, with an increased risk of viral reactivation. Similar delay or suspension have also occurred for universal hepatitis B vaccination programs in many countries. Likewise, COVID-19 pandemic has made unreachable the goal of elimination of HCV infection as a worldwide public-health issue predicted for 2030 by the WHO.

Conclusion: This review article demonstrates how COVID-19 pandemic is causing serious damage to the sector of liver disease, which has quickly lost the beneficial effects of years of study, research, and clinical and technological application, as well as considerable financial investments.

Keywords: COVID-19; HBV infection; HCV infection; SARS-CoV-2; Viral hepatitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest (political, personal, religious, ideological, academic, intellectual, commercial or any other) to declare in relation to this manuscript.

References

    1. Boettler T, Newsome PN, Mondelli MU, Maticic M, Cordero E, Cornberg M, Berg T. Care of patients with liver disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: EASL-ESCMID position paper. JHEP Rep. 2020;2:100113. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2020.100113. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sun J, Aghemo A, Forner A, Valenti L. COVID-19 and liver disease. Liver Int. 2020;40:1278–1281. doi: 10.1111/liv.14470. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wingrove C, Ferrier L, James C, Wang S. The impact of COVID-19 on hepatitis elimination. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;5:792–794. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30238-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tapper EB, Asran SK. The COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the quality of cirrhosis care. J Hepatol. 2020;73:441–445. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2020.04.005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mandel E, Peci A, Cronin K, Capraru CI, Shah H, Janssen HLA, Tran V, Biondi MJ, Feld JJ. The impact of the first, second and third waves of COVID-19 on hepatitis B and C testing in Ontario. Canada J Viral Hepat. 2022;29:205–208. doi: 10.1111/jvh.13637. - DOI - PubMed