tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cureus
. 2022 Feb 10;14(2):e22089.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22089. eCollection 2022 Feb.
Rapid Turn From Cirrhosis to Encephalopathy Following COVID-19 Infection: A Cautionary Tale
Tutul Chowdhury[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jakia Sultana[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jui Dutta[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Nicole Gousy[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Khondokar N Hassan[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has most commonly led to patients presenting with pulmonary disease, including severe acute respiratory syndrome. However, in about 14-53% of patients with a newly diagnosed COVID-19 infection, the liver is the organ most drastically affected, as opposed to the lungs. In patients with preexisting liver damage, the first symptom of a COVID-19 infection may come from worsening liver failure such as hepatic encephalopathy or worsening ascites. This case report highlights this unusual presentation of a COVID-19 infection in a patient with preexisting alcoholic liver cirrhosis. We report this case to heed warning that acutely worsening liver failure may be the first presenting symptom of a superimposed COVID-19 infection on preexisting liver disease.
Keywords: ace-2 receptor; alcohol-related cirrhosis; alcohol-related liver disease; atypical covid; covid-19; overt hepatic encephalopathy.
. 2022 Feb 10;14(2):e22089.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22089. eCollection 2022 Feb.
Rapid Turn From Cirrhosis to Encephalopathy Following COVID-19 Infection: A Cautionary Tale
Tutul Chowdhury[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jakia Sultana[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jui Dutta[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Nicole Gousy[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Khondokar N Hassan[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35308747
- PMCID: PMC8920829
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.22089
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has most commonly led to patients presenting with pulmonary disease, including severe acute respiratory syndrome. However, in about 14-53% of patients with a newly diagnosed COVID-19 infection, the liver is the organ most drastically affected, as opposed to the lungs. In patients with preexisting liver damage, the first symptom of a COVID-19 infection may come from worsening liver failure such as hepatic encephalopathy or worsening ascites. This case report highlights this unusual presentation of a COVID-19 infection in a patient with preexisting alcoholic liver cirrhosis. We report this case to heed warning that acutely worsening liver failure may be the first presenting symptom of a superimposed COVID-19 infection on preexisting liver disease.
Keywords: ace-2 receptor; alcohol-related cirrhosis; alcohol-related liver disease; atypical covid; covid-19; overt hepatic encephalopathy.