DİLARA TURAN GÖKÇE, DERYA ARI, ADALET AYPAK, OSMAN AYDIN, SABİTE KAÇAR, ERDAL BİROL BOSTANCI, MERAL AKDOĞAN KAYHAN
Experimental and Clinical Transplantation - 2023;21(10):837-840
Objectives: Liver transplant recipients have been reported to be a high-risk population for severe disease from COVID-19 infection. In this cross- sectional, single-center study, we investigated whether liver transplant increased the risk of death and severe disease in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: We collected data and serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M and im- munoglobulin G results of 91 liver transplant recipients seen from September 2020 to March 2021. Liver transplant recipients were enrolled during presentation for scheduled routine follow-up visits. All patients who required serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G tests completed a ques-tionnaire on clinical symptoms during the previous 6 months. Results: Among the 91 patients with SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M and G results, 7 patients had a known history of symptomatic COVID-19 during the previous 6 months. Of the 84 participants who completed the questionnaire, 21 (25%) had positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M and G results. These 21 patients also received COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction tests, which were negative in all 21 patients. Overall, only 7 patients stated that they experienced flu-like upper respiratory tract infection symptoms or diarrhea. Conclusions: We documented past SARS-CoV-2 infection in only 25% of our outpatient liver transplant recipients, and most were asymptomatic. We found no significant relationship between symptoms and seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2.
