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Varied clinical presentation and outcome of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in liver transplant recipients: Initial experience at a single center in Madrid, Spain
Author(s) -
Loinaz Carmelo,
Marcacuzco Alberto,
FernándezRuiz Mario,
Caso Oscar,
Cambra Félix,
San Juan Rafael,
Justo Iago,
Calvo Jorge,
GarcíaSesma Alvaro,
Manrique Alejandro,
PérezJacoiste Asín María Asunción,
Folgueira María Dolores,
Aguado José María,
Lumbreras Carlos
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
transplant infectious disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1399-3062
pISSN - 1398-2273
DOI - 10.1111/tid.13372
Subject(s) - medicine , single center , presentation (obstetrics) , covid-19 , liver transplantation , outcome (game theory) , virology , transplantation , surgery , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , mathematical economics , mathematics , outbreak
Background Which are the consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection in liver transplant (LT) recipients? Methods We attempted to address this question by reviewing our single‐center experience during the first 2 months of the pandemics at a high incidence area. Results Nineteen adult patients (5 females) were diagnosed by May 5, 2020. Median age was 58 (range 55‐72), and median follow‐up since transplantation was 83 (range 20‐183) months. Cough (84.2%), fever (57.9%), and dyspnea (47.4%) were the most common symptoms. Thirteen patients (68.4%) had pneumonia in x‐ray/CT scan. Hydroxychloroquine was administered in 11 patients, associated with lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon β in 2 cases each. Immunomodulatory therapy with tocilizumab was used in 2 patients. Immunosuppression (IS) was halted in one patient and modified in only other two due to potential drug interactions. Five (26.3%) patients were managed as outpatient. Two patients (10.5%) died, 10 (52.6%) were discharged home, and 2 (10.5%) were still hospitalized after a median follow‐up of 41 days from the onset of symptoms. Baseline IS regimen remained unchanged in all surviving recipients, with good liver function. Conclusions Our preliminary experience shows a broad spectrum of disease severity in LT patients with COVID‐19, with a favorable outcome in most of them without needing to modify baseline IS.