A Case of COVID Cholangiopathy and Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION

With cholangiopathy, the bile ducts become inflamed and have a "beads on string appearance" with elevated bilirubin. It is typically associated with primary sclerosing cholangitis but is now being reported as a post-COVID complication.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 65-year-old White male presented with resolved respiratory failure from COVID-19 pneumonia, jaundice, and likely subacute kidney injury. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 cholangiopathy due to clinical picture and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography imaging. Unfortunately, due to a massive refractory gastrointestinal bleed, he was transitioned to hospice care.

DISCUSSION

COVID-19 has been shown to have both short- and long-term effects on multiple organ systems. Cholangiopathy is a rare complication of COVID-19. Most of these cases result in severe liver failure and require liver transplant, similar to primary sclerosing cholangitis.

CONCLUSIONS

We report this case to increase awareness among clinicians to consider COVID-19 cholangiopathy in patients with unexplained jaundice and a history of severe COVID-19 infection.