In a study from Massachusetts General Hospital, scientists found COVID-19 infection is associated with increased liver stiffness, a sign of possible long-term liver injury.
This study is part of emerging evidence that COVID-19 infection may lead to liver injury that lasts well after acute illness.
Liver stiffness is a marker of liver damage, such as inflammation or fibrosis. Fibrosis is the buildup of scar tissue in the liver.
Over time, healthy liver tissue diminishes, and the liver can no longer function properly. Progressive fibrosis can lead to liver cancer and liver failure.
In the study, the researchers compared the liver stiffness of patients with a history of COVID-19 infection to two control groups.
All patients underwent ultrasound shear wave elastography between 2019 and 2022. Shear wave elastography is a specialized technique that uses sound waves to measure the stiffness of tissue.
The patients were divided into one of three groups based on when they underwent elastography and whether they tested positive for COVID-19.
The COVID-19-positive group contained 31 patients who had a positive COVID-19 PCR test result at least 12 weeks before the elastography exam.
The pandemic control group consisted of a random sample of 50 patients who underwent elastography during the COVID-19 pandemic and had a history of only negative COVID-19 PCR test results.
The pre-pandemic control group consisted of a random sample of 50 patients who underwent an elastography exam prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mean age was 53.1 years for the COVID-positive patients, 55.2 years for the pandemic control group, and 58.2 years for the pre-pandemic control group.
In the COVID-positive group, elastography exams have performed an average of 44 weeks after a positive PCR test result.
The team found that COVID-positive patients had much higher liver stiffness than the control patients. COVID-positive patients had a higher live stiffness than pandemic control people.
Unexpectedly, the pre-pandemic control group also had a higher median stiffness compared to the pandemic control group.
The reason for this finding is not yet understood but is believed to be a result of changing referral patterns during the pandemic.
Additionally, patients referred for elastography before the pandemic were noted to be older than patients referred after the start of the pandemic.
The researchers are currently investigating whether the severity of acute COVID-related symptoms is predictive of long-term liver injury severity.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about how the gut helps drive COVID-19, and new antiviral drugs may block COVID-19 transmission.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about the new cause of inflammatory cytokine storm in COVID-19, and results showing a universal antibody therapy to fight all COVID-19 variants.
The study was conducted by Firouzeh Heidari et al and presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
