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Author Spotlight: Advancements and Challenges in Hepatitis B Virus Detection
Published on: December 15, 2023
Correlation between COVID-19 and hepatitis B: A systematic review
Yan-Fei He1, Zhi-Gang Jiang2, Ni Wu3
1Health Management Center, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China. heyanfeilc@163.com.
Insights
This review explores the connection between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. While some studies suggest an association, further research is needed to clarify the interaction between these two significant health concerns.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology and Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently presents with liver impairment.
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a significant global health issue.
- The interplay between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and HBV regarding liver damage and disease progression is not fully understood.
Approach:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, etc.) from December 2019 to September 2022.
- Included were 57 studies with human data on hepatitis B and COVID-19, encompassing case reports and quantitative findings.
- Gray literature and references were also reviewed to ensure a thorough analysis.
Key Points:
- Of 57 eligible studies, 42 reported liver enzyme abnormalities in COVID-19 patients with hepatitis B.
- Most studies suggested an interaction between hepatitis B and COVID-19, with 6 reporting HBV activation.
- Twelve studies found no significant interaction, highlighting the complexity of the relationship.
Conclusions:
- A potential association exists between COVID-19 and hepatitis B.
- High-quality randomized controlled trials are necessary to definitively establish the interaction between COVID-19 and hepatitis B.
Background:
There is growing evidence that patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently present with liver impairment. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major public health threat in current society. Both severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and HBV can cause liver damage, and current findings on whether HBV infection increases disease severity in COVID-19 patients are inconsistent, and whether SARS-CoV-2 infection accelerates hepatitis B progression or leads to a worse prognosis in hepatitis B patients has not been adequately elucidated.
Aim:
To explore the complex relationship between COVID-19 and hepatitis B in order to inform the research and management of patients co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and HBV.
Methods:
An experienced information specialist searched the literature in the following online databases: PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Google Scholar, Scopus, Wiley, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect. The literature published from December 2019 to September 1, 2022 was included in the search. We also searched medRxiv and bioRxiv for gray literature and manually scanned references of included articles. Articles reporting studies conducted in humans discussing hepatitis B and COVID-19 were included. We excluded duplicate publications. News reports, reports, and other gray literature were included if they contained quantifiable evidence (case reports, findings, and qualitative analysis). Some topics that included HBV or COVID-19 samples but did not have quantitative evidence were excluded from the review.
Results:
A total of 57 studies were eligible and included in this review. They were from 11 countries, of which 33 (57.9%) were from China. Forty-two of the 57 studies reported abnormalities in liver enzymes, three mainly reported abnormalities in blood parameters, four indicated no significant liver function alterations, and another eight studies did not provide data on changes in liver function. Fifty-seven studies were retrospective and the total number of co-infections was 1932, the largest sample size was 7723, and the largest number of co-infections was 353. Most of the studies suggested an interaction between hepatitis B and COVID-19, while 12 studies clearly indicated no interaction between hepatitis B and COVID-19. Six of the 57 studies clearly reported HBV activation. Six studies were related to liver transplant patients.
Conclusion:
There is some association between COVID-19 and hepatitis B. Future high-quality randomized trials are needed to further elucidate the interaction between COVID-19 and hepatitis B.
