Low seroprevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies in a liver transplant cohort

Campos‐Varela, Isabel; Len, Oscar; Villagrasa, Ares; Márquez‐Algaba, Ester; Esperalba, Juliana; Dopazo, Cristina; Los‐Arcos, Ibai; Antón, Andrés; Castells, Lluís

Solid organ transplant recipients might be at greater risk for acquisition and mortality because of SARS‐CoV‐2. There are no data regarding SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence among liver transplant (LT) recipients, and whether it is different from that of the general population or other immunosuppressed groups. We evaluated the prevalence of IgG SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies among LT recipients to estimate the frequency of asymptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 infection using serological assays in our outpatient clinic. We conducted a cross‐sectional analysis from 10 May to 26 October 2020 of all adult (>18 years) LT recipients that underwent a routine laboratory test for the outpatient clinic follow‐up at the Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron (Barcelona) in which we included serological testing for SARS‐CoV‐2. Nine out of 294 LT recipients (3.1%) tested positive for anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 IgG antibodies. Five of them (55.5%) had suffered clinically symptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 infection confirmed by RT‐PCR, four (44.4%) had presented compatible symptoms but without microbiological confirmation and only one patient (1/9, 11.1%) tested positive without any previous symptom. SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence among LT recipients in an area highly affected by the pandemic is lower than in the general population in the same area. These results render the possibility of asymptomatic infection in LT recipients very unlikely.