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COVID‐19, liver transplant, and immunosuppression: Allies or foes?
Author(s) -
Parente Alessandro,
Manzia Tommaso Maria,
Angelico Roberta,
Tirotta Fabio,
Muiesan Paolo,
Tisone Giuseppe,
Framarino dei Malatesta Marialuisa
Publication year - 2021
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.13417
Subject(s) - medicine , immunosuppression , covid-19 , intensive care medicine , liver transplantation , disease , immunology , liver disease , population , transplantation , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , environmental health , outbreak
Liver transplant (LT) recipients are considered at a particularly high risk for developing critical COVID‐19 infection. To date, available data are heterogeneous and scarce and mortality in LT recipients seems to be higher compared to normal population, but whether this is caused by altered immunological status, immunosuppression (IS), or underlying comorbidities has not yet been fully clarified. Some evidences show that IS might play a role in the pathophysiology of this new disease. We searched all available data regarding LT recipients infected by COVID‐19, focusing on the role of IS. To date, 244 LT recipients have been reported as COVID‐19‐positive. Trends among transplant physicians are to reduce overall IS, especially antimetabolite drugs, but the current available observations are still not enough to build strong evidences for recommendation and IS should be meticulously tailored case by case.