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Does the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection higher in liver transplant recipients?: A single-center experience.
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  • Dilara Turan Gökçe,
  • Derya Arı,
  • Adalet Aypak,
  • Osman Aydın,
  • Sabite Kaçar,
  • Erdal Bostanci,
  • Meral Akdoğan
Dilara Turan Gökçe
Ankara City Hospital
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Derya Arı
Ankara City Hospital

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Adalet Aypak
University of Health Sciences
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Osman Aydın
Ankara City Hospital
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Sabite Kaçar
Ankara City Hospital
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Erdal Bostanci
Ankara City Hospital
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Meral Akdoğan
Ankara City Hospital
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Abstract

Background: Liver transplant (LT) recipients with COVID-19 have been reported as a high-risk population for severe disease through the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown that liver transplantation did not significantly increase the risk of death and severe disease in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: From September 2020- March 2021, we collected data and serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM +IgG results for 91 liver transplant recipients. Study enrolment was performed when patients presented for scheduled routine follow-up. All participants with serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM+IgG completed a questionnaire querying information including clinical symptoms in the last six months. We further collected 91 patients with anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM + IgG results. Seven patients had a known history of symptomatic COVID-19 during the previous six months. Of the 84 participants included in the study, 21 (25 %) had positive anti-SARS-Cov-2 IgM + IgG results. In addition, we applied the COVID-19 PCR test to all 21 patients, and all of them were negative. Overall, only seven patients declared flu-like upper respiratory tract infection symptoms or diarrhea in detailed inquiry. Conclusion: We documented past SARS-CoV-2 infection in 25 % of our outpatient LT recipients, and the majority were asymptomatic. There was no significant relationship between symptoms and seropositivity for SARS-COV-2.