Repository logo
 

SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Patients With Liver Disease and Liver Transplantation Who Received COVID-19 Vaccination.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Abstract

Many safe and effective severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations dramatically reduce risks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) complications and deaths. We aimed to describe cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and liver transplant (LT) recipients with at least one prior COVID-19 vaccine dose. The SECURE-Liver and COVID-Hep international reporting registries were used to identify laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in CLD and LT patients who received a COVID-19 vaccination. Of the 342 cases of lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in the era after vaccine licensing, 40 patients (21 with CLD and 19 with LT) had at least one prior COVID-19 vaccination, including 12 who were fully vaccinated (≥2 weeks after second dose). Of the 21 patients with CLD (90% with cirrhosis), 7 (33%) were hospitalized, 1 (5%) was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 0 died. In the LT cohort (n = 19), there were 6 hospitalizations (32%), including 3 (16%) resulting in mechanical ventilation and 2 (11%) resulting in death. All three cases of severe COVID-19 occurred in patients who had a single vaccine dose within the last 1-2 weeks. In contemporary patients with CLD, rates of symptomatic infection, hospitalization, ICU admission, invasive ventilation, and death were numerically higher in unvaccinated individuals. Conclusion: This case series demonstrates the potential for COVID-19 infections among patients with CLD and LT recipients who had received the COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 appears to result in favorable outcomes as attested by the absence of mechanical ventilation, ICU, or death among fully vaccinated patients.

Description

Keywords

COVID-19, COVID-19 Vaccines, Humans, Liver Cirrhosis, Liver Transplantation, SARS-CoV-2, Vaccination

Journal Title

Hepatol Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2471-254X
2471-254X

Volume Title

Publisher

Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Sponsorship
NIDDK NIH HHS (T32 DK007634)
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Award)
Wellcome Trust (Clinical Research Training Fellowship)
NIH Clinical Center (T32 DK007634)