Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐COV‐2) /Hepatitis B virus (HBV) Co‐infected Patients: A case series and review of the literature

Bekçibaşı, Muhammed; Arslan, Eyüp

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)/hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection affects liver function and the outcome of the disease. METHODS: One hundred fifty‐six laboratories confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 positive patients were followed up between 1 July and 31 December 2020 and analysed retrospectively. Continuous variables were compared with the independent samples t‐test. Categorical variables were compared using the Pearson's chi‐square or Fisher's exact test. A P value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The age range of the cohort was from 40 to 78 and 73 (46.8%) of 156 patients were male. There was no significant difference in age and gender distribution between 20 patients (12.8%) with SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfection and 136 patients without HBV infection (87.2%) (P > .05). Liver function tests were higher in the SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfected patient group but were not statistically significant. The levels of creatine kinase (CK) were significantly higher in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients without HBV infection compared with the SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfected patient group (P = .0047). Severe/critical illness was less common in the SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfected patient group, and no deaths were observed. CONCLUSIONS: SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfection did not change the severity and outcome of COVID‐19. However, the patients with SARS‐CoV‐2/HBV coinfection should be closely monitored for liver complications.