Morphological features of liver injury in COVID-19 according to data of own histological and literary research

Abstract

Summary. SARS-CoV-2 infection is highly pathogenic and tropic to tissues of various internal organs. Severe course of COVID-19 is often accompanied by multiple organ failure, including liver damage. Therefore, the study of the morphogenesis features of liver tissue is an urgent task, because hepatocyte dysfunction is registered with a high frequency and the severity of the disease is associated with the degree of liver damage. The aim of the study – to investigate the pathomorphological features of liver damage in COVID-19. Materials and Methods. Scientific literature and histological studies of liver tissues of 4 patients, who died from complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitals of Ternopil region, were analyzed. Results. It was prooved, that severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infection is accompanied by multiple organ failure, including dystrophic, inflammatory and ischemic liver damage. Conclusion. Liver damage in severe course of COVID-19 manifests as significant macrovesicular steatosis, hepatocyte necrosis, lymphomacrophage infiltration of the portal tracts, and venous plethora in the vascular bed. These changes are the result of multiorgan inflammation, hypoxia, systemic inflammatory reactions, comorbidities that cause liver dysfunction and hepatotoxic effects of certain drugs

Keywords

• covid-19
• liver damage
• hepatocytes steatosis