COVID-19 and liver disease: An update

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has proven to be a serious challenge for the Spanish healthcare system. The impact of the virus on the liver is not well known, but in patients with chronic liver disease, mostly in advanced stages, it can critically compromise survival and trigger decompensation. Treatment in this subpopulation is complex due to the potential hepatotoxicity of some of the medicinal products used. Moreover, the pandemic has also negatively impacted patients with liver disease who have not contracted COVID-19, since the reallocation of human and material resources to the care of patients with the virus has resulted in a decrease in the treatment, diagnosis and follow-up of patients with liver disease, which will surely have negative consequences in the near future. Efficient reorganization of hepatology units is a priority to minimise the impact of the pandemic on a population as vulnerable as liver disease patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Carcinoma hepatocelular; Cirrhosis; Cirrosis; EHGNA; Hepatitis; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver transplantation; MAFLD; NAFLD; SARS-CoV-2; Trasplante hepático.