Large liver abscesses seen among COVID recovered patients at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital; one dead

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi (Photo: IE/ Abhinav Saha)

Delhi: Around 14 cases of large and multiple liver abscesses among covid recovered patients have been detected in a private hospital in Delhi in about three weeks after developing symptoms. This liver abscess is caused by amoebic infection and is a kind of opportunistic infection that doctors have been seeing among COVID- recovered patients in the city. This infection happens due to the immunosuppressed condition brought about by the illness and its treatment, as per report by Indian Express.

As per the doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, they have seen some 14 patients with this liver abscess. While the hospital could save 13 patients, one succumbed to the abscesses due to massive bleeding in abdomen after rupture of abscess in the abdominal cavity, said doctors. Rest were stable and had been discharged from the hospital.

While there is no definite answer to it yet as to why it could have developed or targeted COVID recovered patients only, Professor Anil Arora, Chairman at Institute of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreaticobiliary Sciences shares the possible reasons for this.

In one of the very unusual incidents, doctors found multi and large sized abscess for an immunocompetent person, said Professor Anil Arora. He continued saying, that may be due to the suppression of immunity by covid infection along with frequent usage of steroids to treat the infection, low suspicion for liver abscess, delay in treating patients recuperating from COVID, probably could be the reason for the development of multiple and large abscesses in liver.

Eight out of these patients had received steroids for management of COVID-19 symptoms and six of them had multiple large abscesses in both sides of the liver in which five had unusually large abscesses, the doctor added.

Dr Arora also added that normally these abscesses are single and not unusually large and can be detected early with the help of routine ultrasonography of the abdomen.