Research suggests that patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) who become infected with SARS-CoV-2 may have more severe symptoms at the onset of COVID-19 but the outcomes of the disease are not more adverse that those found among patients without HBV.

“Although COVID‐19 is caused by infection in the respiratory tract, extrapulmonary manifestations, including dysregulation of the immune system and hepatic injury, have been observed,” wrote the authors of a recent study. “Given the high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in China, we sought to study the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and HBV coinfection in patients.”

During a retrospective study, blood samples were procured and analyzed from 50 patients coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 and HBV; 56 patients with only SARS‐CoV‐2; 57 patients with HBV; and 57 healthy patients, all admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.

“SARS‐CoV‐2 and HBV coinfection did not significantly affect the outcome of the COVID‐19. However, at the onset of COVID‐19, SARS‐CoV‐2- and HBV-coinfected patients showed more severe monocytopenia and thrombocytopenia as well as more disturbed hepatic function in albumin production and lipid metabolism,” the authors concluded. “Most of the disarrangement could be reversed after recovery from COVID‐19.”

—Angelique Platas

Reference

Liu R, Zhao L, Cheng X, Han H, Li C, Li D, et al. Clinical characteristics of covid‐19 patients with hepatitis b virus infection — a retrospective study. Liver Int. 2021; 41(4):720-730.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.14774