Interaction between hepatitis B virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic and garnered international attention. The causative pathogen of COVID-19 is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel, highly contagious coronavirus. Numerous studies have reported that liver injury is quite common in patients with COVID-19. Hepatitis B has a worldwide distribution as well as in China. At present, hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Because both viruses challenge liver physiology, it raises questions as to how coinfection with HBV and SARS-CoV-2 affect disease progression and mortality. Is there an increased risk of COVID-19 in patients with HBV infection? In this review, we summarize the current reports of SARS-CoV-2 and HBV coinfection and elaborate the interaction of the two diseases. The emphasis was placed on evaluating the impact of HBV infection on disease severity and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and discussing the potential mechanism behind this effect.

Global Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection Requiring Admission to the ICU: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed unprecedented burden on the delivery of intensive care services worldwide. RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the global point estimate of deaths and risk factors for patients who are admitted to ICUs with severe COVID-19? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched up to August 1, 2020. Pooled prevalence of participant characteristics, clinical features, and outcome data was calculated with the use of random effects models. Subgroup analyses were based on geographic distribution, study type, quality assessment, sample size, end date, and patient disposition. Studies that reported in-hospital mortality rate of adult patients (age >18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to an ICU met study eligibility criteria. Critical evaluation was performed with the Newcastle Ottawa Scale for nonrandomized studies. RESULTS: Forty-five studies with 16,561 patients from 17 countries across four continents were included. Patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to ICUs had a mean age of 62.6 years (95% CI, 60.4-64.7). Common comorbidities included hypertension (49.5%; 95% CI, 44.9-54.0) and diabetes mellitus (26.6%; 95% CI, 22.7-30.8). More than three-quarters of cases experienced the development of ARDS (76.1%; 95% CI, 65.7-85.2). Invasive mechanical ventilation was required in 67.7% (95% CI, 59.1-75.7) of case, vasopressor support in 65.9% (95% CI, 52.4-78.4) of cases, renal replacement therapy in 16.9% (95% CI, 12.1-22.2) of cases, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in 6.4% (95% CI, 4.1-9.1) of cases. The duration of ICU and hospital admission was 10.8 days (95% CI, 9.3-18.4) and 19.1 days (95% CI, 16.3-21.9), respectively, with in-hospital mortality rate of 28.1% (95% CI, 23.4-33.0; I2 = 96%). No significant subgroup effect was observed. INTERPRETATION: Critically ill patients with COVID-19 who are admitted to the ICU require substantial organ support and prolonged ICU and hospital level care. The pooled estimate of global death from severe COVID-19 is <1 in 3.

Tuberculosis and COVID-19: Lessons from the Past Viral Outbreaks and Possible Future Outcomes.

Background: The threat of contagious infectious diseases is constantly evolving as demographic explosion, travel globalization, and changes in human lifestyle increase the risk of spreading pathogens, leading to accelerated changes in disease landscape. Of particular interest is the aftermath of superimposing viral epidemics (especially SARS-CoV-2) over long-standing diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), which remains a significant disease for public health worldwide and especially in emerging economies. Methods and Results: The PubMed electronic database was systematically searched for relevant articles linking TB, influenza, and SARS-CoV viruses and subsequently assessed eligibility according to inclusion criteria. Using a data mining approach, we also queried the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19). We aimed to answer the following questions: What can be learned from other coronavirus outbreaks (focusing on TB patients)? Is coinfection (TB and SARS-CoV-2) more severe? Is there a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2? How does the TB vaccine affect COVID-19? How does one diagnosis affect the other? Discussions. Few essential elements about TB and SARS-CoV coinfections were discussed. First, lessons from past outbreaks (other coronaviruses) and influenza pandemic/seasonal outbreaks have taught the importance of infection control to avoid the severe impact on TB patients. Second, although challenging due to data scarcity, investigating the pathological pathways linking TB and SARS-CoV-2 leads to the idea that their coexistence might yield a more severe clinical evolution. Finally, we addressed the issues of vaccination and diagnostic reliability in the context of coinfection. Conclusions: Because viral respiratory infections and TB impede the host's immune responses, it can be assumed that their lethal synergism may contribute to more severe clinical evolution. Despite the rapidly growing number of cases, the data needed to predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with latent TB and TB sequelae still lies ahead. The trial is registered with NCT04327206, NCT01829490, and NCT04121494.

Clinical characteristics in patients with SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infection.

COVID-19 has become a global pandemic and garnered international attention. Although the clinical features of COVID-19-related liver injury have been investigated, there have been no reports and studies on the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). This study aimed to evaluate whether SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infection could influence liver function and the disease outcome. All 326 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (The COVID-19 designated hospital in Shanghai, China) from 20 January 2020 to 24 February 2020 were enrolled and followed up until February 29 in this study. The clinical, laboratory data and the length of stay were collected and analysed retrospectively. 20 patients with HBV co-infection (6.1%) and 306 patients (93.9%) without HBV infection showed no differences in the level of liver function parameters. However, compared with HBsAg- patients [145.4 mg/L (103.9-179.2)], HBsAg + patients had a lower level of prealbumin [(102.3 mg/L (76.22-160.2), P = .0367]. There were also no significant differences for the discharge rate and the length of stay between two groups. Taken together, we found no evidence that SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infection could aggravate liver injury or extend duration of hospitalization.