A STUDY involving Oxford researchers has found that having had a liver transplant does not increase the risk of death from Covid-19 though other factors common in such patients did.
The researchers from the Oxford Liver Unit, based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Oxford University’s Centre for Statistics in Medicine were looking to assess the clinical outcomes in patients with liver transplants amid concerns they might be at increased risk coronavirus.
However, the team, found the effect of the virus on this patient group remained unclear.
While liver transplantation was not independently associated with death, increased age and the presence of other conditions were.
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The multi-centre study looked at data from 778 patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 infection from 18 countries, 151 of whom were adult liver transplant recipients, and 627 who had not received a liver transplant.
The two groups were compared with regard to outcomes such as death, hospitalisation, admission to an intensive care unit, and the need for invasive ventilation.
There was little difference between the two groups.
Those who'd had a liver transplant were more likely to need ICU admission and ventilation but a larger percentage of the non-liver transplant group died.
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