Evaluation of 846 Liver Transplant Patients Infected with COVID-19 in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The clinical course of coronavirus infection in liver transplant patients is not known accurately. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiological incidence and outcomes of liver transplant patients after coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection who have been registered in the data system of the Tissue, Organ Transplant and Dialysis Services Department. Methods: In this study, which was designed non-interventional, retrospective, and observational;the demographic information, clinical and radiological parameters, lifetime, hospital service and intensive care requirements and length of stay of the patients who were recorded in the information systems of the Ministry of Health, have were examined. A total of 3,426 liver transplant patients who were admitted to the hospital with suspected COVID-19 in Turkey between April 2020 and April 2021 were included in the study. Results: Between April 2020-April 2021, 3,426 cases of liver transplant who admitted to hospitals with symptoms of COVID-19 infection in Turkey were examined. The ratio of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection was 24.69% (846), with a mean age of 52.3%. The 13.48% (462 people) of 3,426 people who had liver transplants were hospitalized. The mean age of the hospitalized patients was 46.6, and the average length of hospital stay was 8.64 days. When the thorax computed tomography scans of 3,426 people with suspected COVID-19 and liver transplant were examined, pneumonia was detected in 344 (10%) people and they were treated as an inpatient. The mean age of the patients with pneumonia was 59 years. The number of liver transplant patients who died was 108 (3.1%), with a mean age of 65 years. The ratio of followup in the intensive care unit for organ transplant recipients was 0.32%, and 0.26% of them were intubated patients. Conclusion: Despite the use of immunosuppressive drugs in patients with liver transplant, the requirement for intensive care and the length of stay in the intensive care unit was found to be low, and the importance of strict follow-up and treatment in such patients was recognized once again.