A Case Series of Variable Manifestations of COVID-19 in Liver Transplant Recipients

The impact of COVID-19 on national program of colorectal cancer screening in Tehran, Iran: a multicenter study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of the healthcare system, including prevention, treatment, rehabilitation of diseases and health education; access to essential therapies; allocation of finance & facilities to health issues, and governance of diseases, including COVID-19 and other diseases. Consequently, the burden of COVID-19 was not only attributable to the multiorgan involvement and detailed presentation of the disease but also to the inadequate management of other diseases resulting from the exclusive allocation of resources and medical personnel to the pandemic crisis. Over the mentioned period, one observed deficiency was the lack of public and official favor for conventional screening protocols. To this end, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening protocols at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, in an effort to identify individuals at risk for CRC and provide them with intensive screening and therapy.

METHODS

This is an observational study comparing the number of candidates for CRC screening referred to primary, secondary, and tertiary health-care centers under supervision of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran in a 2-year interval before and after COVID-19 pandemics. Patients with intermediate- and high-risk criteria for colorectal cancer were included in the study and were screened by fecal immunochemical test. Patients with positive or indeterminate fecal test results were further evaluated with colonoscopy in research institute for gastroenterology and liver diseases where is a tertiary referral center for CRC screening. Finally, the decrease percentage of screening tests and endoscopic findings during the pandemic period compared to pre-pandemic period was calculated and interpreted.

RESULTS

A significant decrease in the number of performed fecal immunochemical tests (FITs), referred positive FITs, and referred patients with positive alarm signs to the Research Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases (RIGLD) center inevitably led to a considerable decrease in the number of endoscopic findings, including high-risk adenomas, sessile serrated polyps, and even early-stage colorectal cancers (CRCs).

CONCLUSION

The disruption of screening protocols caused by the COVID-19 pandemic appears to increase the number of patients with high-grade and end-stage CRCs referred in the near future.

COVID-19 infection frequency and clinical course in patients with liver transplantation: Results of a single transplant center in Türkiye

Objectives

In this paper, it was tried to determine the incidence of COVID-19, course of the disease, and mortality rate in liver transplant patients by evaluating all patients operated on in our center. In addition, the results of liver transplantation performed in our center during the pandemic period were also presented.

Material and Methods

All patients who had undergone liver transplantation in our liver transplant center were questioned about their history of COVID-19 either at their routine controls in the clinic or by phone interview.

Results

Our liver transplant unit had 195 registered liver transplantation patients (2002-2020), and 142 of these were still alive and under follow-up. During the pandemic period, 80 patients referred to our outpatient clinic for follow-up, and their records were evaluated retrospectively in January 2021. Among 142 liver transplant patients, a total of 18 (12.6%) COVID-19 patients were identified. While 13 of these patients were males, mean age of the patients at the time of interviews was 48.8 years (22-65 years). Nine of the patients had living donor liver transplant, and the rest had cadaveric liver transplant. The most common COVID-19 associated symptom in the patients was fever. During the pandemic period, 12 liver transplant operations were performed in our center. Nine of them were living donor liver transplantation and the remainder were cadaveric liver transplantations. Two of our patients got COVID-19 positive during this period. One of them who was transplanted after COVID treatment was followed-up in intesive care for a long time and was lost not related to COVID-19.

Conclusion

The incidence of COVID-19 is higher in liver transplant patients than in the general population. Nonetheless, mortality rates are low. During the pandemic period, liver transplantation can be continued by following general precautions.