Acute Liver Failure Caused by Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis After COVID-19 Vaccination - Case Report and Literature Review

Hrvoje Premec; Matea Živko; Maja Mijić; Biljana Jelić-Puškarić; Miloš Lalovac; Tajana Filipec Kanižaj; Nikola Sobočan

doi:10.2147/IMCRJ.S417347

Acute Liver Failure Caused by Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis After COVID-19 Vaccination - Case Report and Literature Review

Int Med Case Rep J. 2023 Aug 7:16:449-455. doi: 10.2147/IMCRJ.S417347. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hrvoje Premec¹, Matea Živko², Maja Mijić¹, Biljana Jelić-Puškarić^{3

4}, Miloš Lalovac^{1

5}, Tajana Filipec Kanižaj^{1

2}, Nikola Sobočan^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Merkur, Zagreb, Croatia.
² School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
³ Department of Pathology and Cytology, University Hospital Merkur, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁴ School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁵ University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Abstract

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a congenital or acquired hyperinflammatory syndrome, in some cases accompanied by acute liver failure. We present a case report of acute liver failure associated with HLH after COVID-19 vaccination and bring a literature review of the connection between HLH and COVID-19 vaccination. HLH has significant mortality rate, and liver transplantation is not a therapeutic option. Therefore, early recognition and timely conservative treatment are corner stones in reducing HLH-related morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; acute liver failure; hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

Publication types

Case Reports