Department of Mental Health and Public Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Luciano Armanni 5, 80101, Naples, Italy.
Infection. 2022 Aug;50(4):849-858. doi: 10.1007/s15010-022-01804-z. Epub 2022 Mar 22.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly compromised screening, laboratory controls, clinical surveillance and treatment of chronic hepatitis patients and worsened their outcome, as evidenced by its significant correlation with advanced cirrhosis, liver decompensation and mortality.
This pandemic significantly impaired also the sector of liver transplantation, whose wards, operating rooms, outpatients' facilities, and healthcare personnel have been dedicated to patients with COVID-19. In addition, screening and treatment for HBV infection have been delayed or suspended in in most countries, with an increased risk of viral reactivation. Similar delay or suspension have also occurred for universal hepatitis B vaccination programs in many countries. Likewise, COVID-19 pandemic has made unreachable the goal of elimination of HCV infection as a worldwide public-health issue predicted for 2030 by the WHO.
This review article demonstrates how COVID-19 pandemic is causing serious damage to the sector of liver disease, which has quickly lost the beneficial effects of years of study, research, and clinical and technological application, as well as considerable financial investments.
COVID-19 大流行严重影响了慢性肝炎患者的筛查、实验室控制、临床监测和治疗,使其病情恶化,这一点从 COVID-19 与晚期肝硬化、肝功能失代偿和死亡率显著相关就可以看出。
COVID-19 也严重影响了肝脏移植领域,其病房、手术室、门诊设施和医务人员都致力于治疗 COVID-19 患者。此外,在大多数国家,HBV 感染的筛查和治疗都被推迟或暂停,病毒再激活的风险增加。在许多国家,乙型肝炎疫苗接种计划也出现了类似的延迟或暂停。同样,COVID-19 大流行使得世界卫生组织(WHO)预测的到 2030 年消除 HCV 感染作为全球公共卫生问题的目标变得遥不可及。
这篇综述文章表明,COVID-19 大流行正在对肝病领域造成严重破坏,该领域迅速失去了多年研究、研究、临床和技术应用以及大量财政投资带来的有益效果。