Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2024; 16(4): 517-536
Published online Apr 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i4.517
Spectrum of COVID-19 induced liver injury: A review report
Lokjan Singh, Anil Kumar, Maya Rai, Bibek Basnet, Nishant Rai, Pukar Khanal, Kok-Song Lai, Wan-Hee Cheng, Ahmed Morad Asaad, Shamshul Ansari
Lokjan Singh, Anil Kumar, Maya Rai, Department of Microbiology, Karnali Academy of Health Science, Teaching Hospital, Jumla 21200, Karnali, Nepal
Bibek Basnet, Health Sciences, Asian College of Advance Studies, Purbanchal University, Satdobato 24122, Lalitpur, Nepal
Nishant Rai, Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248002, Uttarakhand, India
Pukar Khanal, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, KLE College of Pharmacy, Belagavi, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Belagavi 590010, Karnataka, India
Kok-Song Lai, Shamshul Ansari, Division of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi Women's College, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi 41012, United Arab Emirates
Wan-Hee Cheng, Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Malaysia
Ahmed Morad Asaad, Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Author contributions: Ansari S conceived and conceptualized the design of the manuscript; Singh L, Kumar A, Rai M, Basnet B, Rai N, and Khanal P searched the published literature; Singh L, Kumar A, Rai M, Basnet B, Rai N, and Khanal P extracted the core information and prepared the initial draft of the manuscript; Lai K-S, Cheng W-H, Asaad AM, and Ansari S reviewed and edited the manuscript; Rai N and Ansari S revised the draft of the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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: Shamshul Ansari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi Women's College, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi 41012, United Arab Emirates. shamshulansari483@yahoo.com
Received: October 25, 2023
Peer-review started: October 25, 2023
First decision: January 5, 2024
Revised: January 20, 2024
Accepted: February 28, 2024
Article in press: February 28, 2024
Published online: April 27, 2024
Processing time: 181 Days and 23.3 Hours
Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused changes in the global health system, causing significant setbacks in healthcare systems worldwide. This pandemic has also shown resilience, flexibility, and creativity in reacting to the tragedy. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection targets most of the respiratory tract, resulting in a severe sickness called acute respiratory distress syndrome that may be fatal in some individuals. Although the lung is the primary organ targeted by COVID-19 viruses, the clinical aspect of the disease is varied and ranges from asymptomatic to respiratory failure. However, due to an unorganized immune response and several affected mechanisms, the liver may also experience liver cell injury, ischemic liver dysfunction, and drug-induced liver injury, which can result in respiratory failure because of the immune system’s disordered response and other compromised processes that can end in multisystem organ failure. Patients with liver cirrhosis or those who have impaired immune systems may be more likely than other groups to experience worse results from the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We thus intend to examine the pathogenesis, current therapy, and consequences of liver damage concerning COVID-19.

Keywords: Autoimmune liver disease; COVID-19; Clinical manifestation of liver; Drug-induced liver injury; SARS-CoV-2

Core Tip: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed an unprecedented burden on public health and healthcare globally. It can decompensate pre-existing liver disease or induce acute liver injury. Its presence in hepatocytes directly exhibits cytopathic action and damages the liver because of hypoxia, inflammation, and medication toxicity. The pathophysiology of COVID-19-related liver involvement includes viral cytotoxicity, immunological dysregulation's secondary effect, hypoxia brought on by respiratory failure, ischemia damage from vascular endotheliitis, heart failure, or drug-induced liver injury. This study focuses on the pathophysiology, available treatments, and outcomes of liver injury in relation to COVID-19.