Acute liver injury in the course of COVID-19

Abstract

Although coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) most often affects the respiratory system, in the course of this disease, dysfunction of many other organs may also develop. The case is presented of a female patient, treated for a long time due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, complicated by chronic complete respiratory failure, and who was undergoing non-invasive mechanical ventilation at home. She was admitted to the Pneumonology Department due to exacerbation of the symptoms of her underlying disease. Several tests for SARS-CoV2 infection gave a negative result. During the patient's stay in the clinic, a rapid increase was observed in symptoms of respiratory failure, heart failure, and laboratory signs of acute liver damage. The next PCR test result proved to be positive. In addition to the case report, the possible impact of SARS-CoV2 infection on liver damage is also also discussed, along with a literature review on this topic.

Human‐induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived hepatocyte platform in modeling of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection

“…5 Furthermore, there have been case series reporting SARS-CoV-2-related fulminant liver failure. [6][7][8] The influence of liver injury on the hepatotropism of SARS-CoV-2 still remains unclear, so it is of clinical importance to elucidate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. The humaninduced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and their hepatic derivatives offer conveniences to study hepatic disease in vitro.…”

“…Although COVID‐19 may trigger acute liver injury in patients with chronic liver diseases, many COVID‐19 patients had normal liver functions without underlying liver disorders 5 . Furthermore, there have been case series reporting SARS‐CoV‐2‐related fulminant liver failure 6–8 …”