Recovery of moderate COVID-19 in a liver transplant recipient on continued immunosuppression: a case report

Abstract The global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has had an enormous impact on the world. It remains unclear to what extent liver transplant recipients should be considered at a higher risk of severe disease due to the limited data available. We describe a moderate course of COVID-19 in a patient who underwent a liver transplant two years earlier due to Budd-Chiari syndrome. The patient presented with malaise, headache, dry cough and fever for four days. Immunosuppressive therapy with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil was continued throughout the course of infection, oxygen therapy was given for a single night and the patient gradually recovered with supportive care only. With this case report, we demonstrate that liver transplantation and immunosuppression is not necessarily associated with severe COVID-19 disease and emphasize that more information on this matter is urgently required. Withdrawal of immunosuppressive therapy could be associated with a higher mortality.