Extended resections are associated with increased perioperative morbidity and mortality, particularly when extended total pancreatectomy is performed. Favourable long-term outcome is achieved in some patients.

Background Hepatosteatosis is the earliest stage in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD). As NAFLD is affecting 10–24% of the general population and approximately 70% of obese patients, it carries a large economic burden and is becoming a major reason for liver transplantation worldwide. ALD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality causing 50% of liver cirrhosis and 10% of liver cancer related death. Increasing evidence has accumulated that gut-derived factors play a crucial role in the development and progression of chronic liver diseases. Methods A selective literature search was conducted in Medline and PubMed, using the terms “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” “alcoholic liver disease,” “lipopolysaccharide,” “gut barrier,” and “microbiome.” Results Gut dysbiosis and gut barrier dysfunction both contribute to chronic liver disease by abnormal regulation of the gut-liver axis. Thereby, gut-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a key factor in inducing the inflammatory response of liver tissue. The review further underlines that endotoxemia is observed in both NAFLD and ALD patients. LPS plays an important role in conducting liver damage through the LPS-TLR4 signaling pathway. Treatments targeting the gut microbiome and the gut barrier such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) represent potential treatment modalities for NAFLD and ALD. Conclusions The gut-liver axis plays an important role in the development of liver disease. Treatments targeting the gut microbiome and the gut barrier have shown beneficial effects in attenuating liver inflammation and need to be further investigated.

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Immunosuppression leaves transplanted patients at particular risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. The specific features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in immunosuppressed patients are largely unknown and therapeutic experience is lacking. Seven transplanted patients (two liver, three kidneys, one double lung, one heart) admitted to the Ludwig‐Maximilians‐University Munich because of COVID‐19 and tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 were included. The clinical course and the clinical findings were extracted from the medical record. The two liver transplant patients and the heart transplant patient had an uncomplicated course and were discharged after 14, 18, and 12 days, respectively. Two kidney transplant recipients were intubated within 48 hours. One kidney and the lung transplant recipients were required to intubate after 10 and 15 days, respectively. Immunosuppression was adapted in five patients, but continued in all patients. Compared to non‐transplanted patients at the ICU (n = 19) the inflammatory response was attenuated in transplanted patients, which was proven by decreased IL‐6 blood values. This analysis might provide evidence that continuous immunosuppression is safe and probably beneficial since there was no hyperinflammation evident. Although transplanted patients might be more susceptible to an infection with SARS‐CoV‐2, their clinical course seems to be similar to immunocompetent patients.