Helou M, Nasr J, El Osta N, Jabbour E, Husni R. Liver manifestations in COVID-19 patients: A review article. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11(10): 2189-2200 [PMID: 37122526 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i10.2189]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Rola Husni, MD, Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University, School of Medicine, Zahar Street, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon. roula.husni@lau.edu.lb
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
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/
Mariana Helou, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University Medical Center, Lebanese American University School of Medicine, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon
Janane Nasr, Rola Husni, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University, School of Medicine, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon
Nour El Osta, Elsy Jabbour, Division of Emergency, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University, School of Medicine, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon
Author contributions: Authors have contributed equally in the writing; All authors had full access to all of the data in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the data.
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: Rola Husni, MD, Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Lebanese American University, School of Medicine, Zahar Street, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon. roula.husni@lau.edu.lb
Received: December 27, 2022 Peer-review started: December 27, 2022 First decision: January 30, 2023 Revised: February 9, 2023 Accepted: March 10, 2023 Article in press: March 10, 2023 Published online: April 6, 2023 Processing time: 93 Days and 1.7 Hours
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initially presented as a disease that affected the lungs. Then, studies revealed that it intricately affected disparate organs in the human body, with the liver being one of the most affected organs. This review aimed to assess the association between COVID-19 and liver function, shedding light on its clinical implication. However, its exact pathophysiology remains unclear, involving many factors, such as active viral replication in the liver cells, direct cytotoxic effects of the virus on the liver or adverse reactions to viral antigens. Liver symptoms are mild-to-moderate transaminase elevation. In some patients, with underlying liver disease, more serious outcomes are observed. Thus, liver function should be meticulously considered in patients with COVID-19.
Core Tip: Coronavirus disease or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not only a respiratory illness but it can also affect the gastrointestinal system particularly the liver. Although the exact pathophysiology is unknown, more serious outcomes are seen when there is an underlying liver disease. Meticulous attention should be given to liver function in patients with COVID-19 infection.
