Abstract
Background: Patients with liver disease may be at increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to immune dysfunction. However, the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in these patients remains unknown. This study aimed to determine whether patients with liver disease are at an increased risk of nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection upon admission to the hospital for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Methods: The study prospectively enrolled 143 patients who were admitted at least once to the hepatology unit at our hospital; 95 patients (66%) were admitted at least twice during the study period. History of past symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 exposure was assessed on the day before hospital admission via an interview. Patients were evaluated for active SARS-CoV-2 infection via real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) performed on nasopharyngeal swabs and tests for serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.
Results: None of the patients enrolled tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR at the first or the second clinical evaluation. One patient who had previously received a liver transplant and who had a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection that occurred 4 months before hospital admission tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG but not IgM antibodies at each of the two hospital admissions.
Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that patients with liver disease are at no increased risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These data support the policy of maintaining clinical hospital checks that will be necessary until or possibly even after the completion of the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign.
Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Immunosuppression; Liver cirrhosis; Liver transplantation; Nasopharyngeal swab; Nosocomial infection; Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2 infection; Vaccination.
【저자키워드】 vaccination, SARS-COV-2 infection, Immunosuppression, Nasopharyngeal swab, Immunoglobulin G, Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, Liver transplantation, Nosocomial infection, Liver cirrhosis, immunoglobulin M, Hepatocellular carcinoma, 【초록키워드】 antibodies, SARS-CoV-2, IgG, IgM, hospital, nosocomial, Infection, diagnostic, risk, RT-PCR, anti-SARS-CoV-2, serum, Immunoglobulin, clinical evaluation, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, symptomatic, therapeutic, Patient, Hospital admission, Admission, liver, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, immune dysfunction, Liver disease, Hospital admissions, reverse transcriptase, Support, history, increased risk, IgM antibody, one patient, study period, positive, transmission of SARS-CoV-2, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, polymerase chain, enrolled, tested, performed, occurred, the patient, evaluated, determine, 【제목키워드】 nosocomial, Infection, risk, Patient, Liver disease, single-center,