Fernandes S, Sosa-Napolskij M, Lobo G, Silva I. Relation of COVID-19 with liver diseases and their impact on healthcare systems: The Portuguese case. World J Gastroenterol 2023; 29(6): 1109-1122 [PMID: 36844137 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i6.1109]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Isabel Silva, Doctor, PhD, Researcher, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Neurobiology–Department of Immuno-physiology and Pharmacology, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS-UP), Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº228, Porto 4050-313, Portugal. isabel.silva@ibmc.up.pt
Research Domain of This Article
Scientific Journal
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
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 14, 2023; 29(6): 1109-1122 Published online Feb 14, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i6.1109
Relation of COVID-19 with liver diseases and their impact on healthcare systems: The Portuguese case
Sara Fernandes, Milaydis Sosa-Napolskij, Graça Lobo, Isabel Silva
Sara Fernandes, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto 4050-313, Portugal
Milaydis Sosa-Napolskij, CINTESIS@RISE, Center for Health Technology and Services Research at The Associate Laboratory RISE–Health Research Network, Faculty of Medicine of The University of Porto, Porto 4200-219, Portugal
Graça Lobo, Isabel Silva, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Neurobiology–Department of Immuno-physiology and Pharmacology, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto 4050-313, Portugal
Graça Lobo, Isabel Silva, Center for Drug Discovery and Innovative Medicines (MedInUP), Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto 4050-313, Portugal
Author contributions: Fernandes S and Sosa-Napolskij M contributed equally to this work; Fernandes S, Sosa-Napolskij M, Lobo G, and Silva I designed the research study, performed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
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: Isabel Silva, Doctor, PhD, Researcher, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Neurobiology–Department of Immuno-physiology and Pharmacology, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar da Universidade do Porto (ICBAS-UP), Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº228, Porto 4050-313, Portugal. isabel.silva@ibmc.up.pt
Received: September 13, 2022 Peer-review started: September 13, 2022 First decision: November 5, 2022 Revised: November 18, 2022 Accepted: December 30, 2022 Article in press: December 30, 2022 Published online: February 14, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be asymptomatic or cause mild to severe symptoms exacerbated by preexisting health conditions like liver diseases. However, the relation between hepatic diseases and the effect and prognosis of COVID-19 individuals is unclear, and information concerning the Portuguese population is scarce.
Research motivation
To understand how hepatic disorders may have been affected by COVID-19 and how this infection impacted the Portuguese healthcare system.
Research objectives
To investigate the association between COVID-19 and liver diseases and their impact on the prognosis of patients and explore the effect of COVID-19 on healthcare systems.
Research methods
A review of the relevant literature was performed.
Research results
People with liver diseases who were COVID-19-positive had a worse prognosis than individuals without hepatic diseases. Due to COVID-19, most countries altered the normal activity of healthcare systems, increasing teleconsultations.
Research conclusions
The interaction between liver diseases and COVID-19 in people's prognosis is unclear, but there is evidence of its existence. As observed in other countries, the normal activity of the national healthcare system in Portugal was modified due to the pandemic situation created by COVID-19.
Research perspectives
To promote the development of studies about the interaction and relation between liver diseases and COVID-19 and generate critical thinking about how healthcare systems should function in case of a pandemic.
