TY - JOUR
T1 - Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Autoimmune Hepatitis
T2 - A Lesson From Immunosuppressed Patients
AU - Gerussi, Alessio
AU - Rigamonti, Cristina
AU - Elia, Chiara
AU - Cazzagon, Nora
AU - Floreani, Annarosa
AU - Pozzi, Roberta
AU - Pozzoni, Pietro
AU - Claar, Ernesto
AU - Pasulo, Luisa
AU - Fagiuoli, Stefano
AU - Cristoferi, Laura
AU - Carbone, Marco
AU - Invernizzi, Pietro
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Hepatology Communications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Chronic immunosuppression is associated with increased and more severe viral infections. However, little is known about the association between immunosuppression and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Our aim was to describe the clinical course of patients with immunosuppressed autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in Italy. Our study is a case series of patients with AIH treated with immunosuppression, who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19. Ten patients from seven different hospitals in Italy were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020. Seven subjects were female (70%), and age ranged from 27 to 73 years. Before the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection, all patients were taking immunosuppressive therapy for AIH, and eight of them were on biochemical remission. Two other patients had recent acute onset of their AIH, and consequently started high-dose steroids, as per induction protocol. All patients had a respiratory syndrome and a positive nasal swab for SARS-CoV-2. Five patients developed a computed tomography–confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia. Six subjects received a combination of antiretroviral and antimalarial drugs. In seven patients, the dosage of immunosuppressive medication was changed. Liver enzymes were repeated during SARS-CoV-2 infection in all hospitalized cases; they remained within the normal range in all cases, and improved in the two acute cases treated with high-dose steroids. The clinical outcome was comparable to the reported cases occurring in non-immunosuppressed subjects. Conclusion: Patients under immunosuppressive therapy for AIH developing COVID-19 show a disease course presumptively similar to that reported in the non-immunosuppressed population. These data might aid in medical decisions when dealing with SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised patients.
AB - Chronic immunosuppression is associated with increased and more severe viral infections. However, little is known about the association between immunosuppression and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Our aim was to describe the clinical course of patients with immunosuppressed autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in Italy. Our study is a case series of patients with AIH treated with immunosuppression, who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19. Ten patients from seven different hospitals in Italy were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020. Seven subjects were female (70%), and age ranged from 27 to 73 years. Before the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection, all patients were taking immunosuppressive therapy for AIH, and eight of them were on biochemical remission. Two other patients had recent acute onset of their AIH, and consequently started high-dose steroids, as per induction protocol. All patients had a respiratory syndrome and a positive nasal swab for SARS-CoV-2. Five patients developed a computed tomography–confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia. Six subjects received a combination of antiretroviral and antimalarial drugs. In seven patients, the dosage of immunosuppressive medication was changed. Liver enzymes were repeated during SARS-CoV-2 infection in all hospitalized cases; they remained within the normal range in all cases, and improved in the two acute cases treated with high-dose steroids. The clinical outcome was comparable to the reported cases occurring in non-immunosuppressed subjects. Conclusion: Patients under immunosuppressive therapy for AIH developing COVID-19 show a disease course presumptively similar to that reported in the non-immunosuppressed population. These data might aid in medical decisions when dealing with SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised patients.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090163682&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/hep4.1557
DO - 10.1002/hep4.1557
M3 - Article
SN - 2471-254X
VL - 4
SP - 1257
EP - 1262
JO - Hepatology Communications
JF - Hepatology Communications
IS - 9
ER -
