Dataset Information

Impact of COVID-19 on the care of patients with liver disease: EASL-ESCMID position paper after 6 months of the pandemic.

ABSTRACT: During the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, EASL and ESCMID published a position paper to provide guidance for physicians involved in the care of patients with chronic liver disease. While some healthcare systems are returning to a more normal routine, many countries and healthcare systems have been, or still are, overwhelmed by the pandemic, which is significantly impacting on the care of these patients. In addition, many studies have been published focusing on how COVID-19 may affect the liver and how pre-existing liver diseases might influence the clinical course of COVID-19. While many aspects remain poorly understood, it has become increasingly evident that pre-existing liver diseases and liver injury during the disease course must be kept in mind when caring for patients with COVID-19. This review should serve as an update on the previous position paper, summarising the evidence for liver disease involvement during COVID-19 and providing recommendations on how to return to routine care wherever possible.

SUBMITTER: Boettler T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7402276 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of COVID-19 on the care of patients with liver disease: EASL-ESCMID position paper after 6 months of the pandemic.

Boettler Tobias T Marjot Thomas T Newsome Philip N PN Mondelli Mario U MU Maticic Mojca M Cordero Elisa E Jalan Rajiv R Moreau Richard R Cornberg Markus M Berg Thomas T

JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology 20200804 5

During the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, EASL and ESCMID published a position paper to provide guidance for physicians involved in the care of patients with chronic liver disease. While some healthcare systems are returning to a more normal routine, many countries and healthcare systems have been, or still are, overwhelmed by the pandemic, which is significantly impacting on the care of these patients. In addition, many studies have been published focusing on ...[more]

PMID: 32835190

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background & aimsThe World Health Organization (WHO) HBV and HCV elimination targets, set in 2016 and based on projections to 2030, were unable to consider the impact of intervening factors. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on viral hepatitis elimination programs, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) conducted a survey in liver centers worldwide in 2021.MethodsA web-based questionnaire was distributed (May-July 2021) to all EASL members representing clinical units providing HBV and HCV hepatitis care. Results are expressed as absolute numbers and reduction rates for each care activity.ResultsData were collected from 32 European and 12 non-European clinical centers. Between January 2019 (pre-pandemic) and December 2020 (during the pandemic), chronic HBV consultations decreased by 32% and 26%, new referrals by 38% and 39%, HBV testing rates by 39% and 21% (for HBsAg detection) and 30% and 22% (for HBV DNA detection), and new HBV treatments by 20% and 44% (p = 0.328) in European and non-European centers, respectively. With regard to HCV during the same time frame, the overall reductions were 39% and 50% for consultations, 49% and 49% for new referrals, 11% and 38% for HCV RNA detection, and 51% and 54% for new HCV antiviral treatments for European and non-European Centers, respectively (p = 0.071).ConclusionsAll steps in the viral hepatitis care cascade have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a comparable impact across different centers. These data reaffirm the pandemic's major effect on global viral hepatitis elimination programs and suggest that actions to achieve the WHO 2030 targets should be reconsidered and revised to account for each country's progress relative to pre-pandemic values.Lay summaryThe EASL multinational survey conclusively shows that viral hepatitis elimination programs, expected to provide control of hepatitis B and hepatitis C worldwide by 2030, have been held back by the COVID-19 pandemic in clinical centers from several European and non-European countries, with a comparable impact across centers. Limitations in the cascade of care for both HBV and HCV were linked to limited access to screening, consultations, specific testing, and actual treatment. As restrictions for COVID-19 begin to lift, efforts to diagnose and provide treatment for viral hepatitis should remain high on the list of priorities for public health officials to maintain the WHO elimination efforts. Measures that have been put in place to control the COVID-19 pandemic could be transferred to increasing the diagnosis and linkage to care of people with hepatitis.

Project description:Background and aimsThe global impact of SARS-CoV-2 on liver transplantation (LT) practices across the world is unknown. The goal of this survey was to assess the impact of the pandemic on global LT practices.MethodA prospective web-based survey (available online from 7th September 2020 to 31st December 2020) was proposed to the active members of the EASL-ESOT/ELITA-ILTS in the Americas (including North, Central, and South America) (R1), Europe (R2), and the rest of the world (R3). The survey comprised 4 parts concerning transplant processes, therapy, living donors, and organ procurement.ResultsOf the 470 transplant centers reached, 128 answered each part of the survey, 29 centers (23%), 64 centers (50%), and 35 centers (27%) from R1, R2, and R3, respectively. When we compared the practices during the first 6 months of the pandemic in 2020 with those a year earlier in 2019, statistically significant differences were found in the number of patients added to the waiting list (WL), WL mortality, and the number of LTs performed. At the regional level, we found that in R2 the number of LTs was significantly higher in 2019 (p <0.01), while R3 had more patients listed, higher WL mortality, and more LTs performed before the pandemic. Countries severely affected by the pandemic ("hit" countries) had a lower number of WL patients (p = 0.009) and LTs (p = 0.002) during the pandemic. Interestingly, WL mortality was still higher in the "non-hit" countries in 2020 compared to 2019 (p = 0.022).ConclusionThe first wave of the pandemic differentially impacted LT practices across the world, especially with detrimental effects on the "hit" countries. Modifications to the policies of recipient and donor selection, organ retrieval, and postoperative recipient management were adopted at a regional or national level.Lay summaryThe health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed clinical practice during the pandemic. The first wave of the pandemic impacted liver transplantation differently across the world, with particularly detrimental effects on the countries badly hit by the virus. The resilience of the entire transplant network has enabled continued organ donation and transplantation, ultimately improving the lives of patients with end-stage liver disease.

Dataset Information

Impact of COVID-19 on the care of patients with liver disease: EASL-ESCMID position paper after 6 months of the pandemic.

Publications

Impact of COVID-19 on the care of patients with liver disease: EASL-ESCMID position paper after 6 months of the pandemic.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets