Said ZNA, El Habashy SA, Zaky S, ESCMID Study Group for Viral Hepatitis. COVID-19-induced transaminitis and hyperbilirubinemia: Presentation and outcomes. World J Gastroenterol 2023; 29(7): 1123-1130 [PMID: 36926664 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i7.1123]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, PhD, Additional Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine (For Girls), Al-Azhar University, Elshenawy St., Cairo 11754, Nasr City, Egypt. znabil58@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 21, 2023; 29(7): 1123-1130 Published online Feb 21, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i7.1123
COVID-19-induced transaminitis and hyperbilirubinemia: Presentation and outcomes
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, Safinaz Adel El Habashy, Samy Zaky, ESCMID Study Group for Viral Hepatitis
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine (For Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11754, Nasr City, Egypt
Safinaz Adel El Habashy, Department of Pediatrics, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11391, Abbaseia, Egypt
Samy Zaky, Department of Hepato-gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine (For Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11754, Egypt
Author contributions: Said ZNA, El Habashy SA, and Zaky S contributed equally to this work; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, PhD, Additional Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine (For Girls), Al-Azhar University, Elshenawy St., Cairo 11754, Nasr City, Egypt. znabil58@yahoo.com
Received: September 10, 2022 Peer-review started: September 10, 2022 First decision: November 17, 2022 Revised: December 29, 2022 Accepted: February 13, 2023 Article in press: February 13, 2023 Published online: February 21, 2023
Abstract
The risk of liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is quite evident. Furthermore, liver function test abnormalities are still detected in COVID-19 patients despite the development of antivirals and the availability of several types of vaccines. This editorial describes liver involvement during COVID-19 infection in patients with or without preexisting liver injury, such as chronic liver disease, to elucidate COVID-19-induced liver function abnormalities and their severity, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and clinical and laboratory outcomes. We also discuss the effect of vaccination against COVID-19 to better understand host factors, such as age, gender, and race, on the incidence and severity of liver dysfunction at initial presentation and during the illness. Finally, we summarize the results of relevant meta-analyses published to date and highlight the importance of adequate liver function monitoring in the current climate of the overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic.
Core Tip: Recent evidence confirmed coronavirus disease 2019-induced liver function test abnormalities in patients with or without preexisting liver injury. Understanding the mechanism and recognizing the clinical picture, as well as identifying the risk factors for developing such abnormalities, will pave the way for early diagnosis and better management of such cases.
