Covid 19 And Hepatitis In India: Research Makes Clear distinctions between the Overlapping Symptoms Of The Two Viruses

With the rise in COVID-19 and hepatitis cases in parts of India. The study uncovers the ambiguous symptoms of the two and makes clear distinctions to help medical practitioners in a clear diagnosis

COVID-19 And Hepatitis In India: Clear Distinctions Between The Overlapping Symptoms Of The Two Viruses

With the Covid cases already crossing the 7000 mark, India is now facing the extra strain of dealing with another virus outbreak, that is of Hepatitis A. The outbreak is intense, especially in the state of Kerala, where maximum infections are being reported.

With COVID and Hepatitis coming into the scene, there comes confusion and perplexity over the symptoms. The new COVID-19 variant, the NB.1.8.1, LF7 and the XFG, which are the descendants of the Omicron variant, are now showing symptoms that are related to gastrointestinal issues. This specific symptom is very common among patients with Hepatitis A. Such complexity can make people more confused in detecting the signals and associating them with the two particular diseases.

The study highlighted below uncovers the differences between the two diseases for better clarity.

In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, gastroenterologists have noticed that gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea very closely resemble classic hepatitis manifestations. The study written by Xianqiang Yu on the National Library of Medicine is based on in The American Journal of Gastroenterology research based article about the digestive tract characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. The study highlighted the arduous challenge that doctors face in differentiating between traditional forms of hepatitis and COVID 19 symptoms that are related to the liver.

The study notes that many abdominal symptoms are not rare or uncommon in COVID 19 and can often be misdiagnosed during detection.

In the routine practice that is followed by doctors in diagnosing abdominal complaints, many doctors might focus on hepatitis and potentially neglect the fact that SARS CoV 2 itself may be the cause.

The study introduces two pivotal concepts for a better understanding of the symptoms and diagnosis

Hepatitis combined with COVID 19

Occurs when patients coincidentally suffer from both a liver condition and COVID 19, but the two are unrelated in origin.

Novel coronavirus hepatitis

This is a more concerning situation as in this condition the virus directly infects the liver, and develops a condition that appears clinically as hepatitis. The observation and the conclusion are complemented by reports detecting viral particles in liver tissue, suggesting SARS CoV 2 has the capacity to infect the liver.

The researcher argues that marking this distinction is more than academic: as the lack of awareness can lead to a failure to recognize coronavirus hepatitis and that can lead to opting for incorrect treatment approaches, and other hazards like not being able to carefully understand the severity of disease and that can make a delay in advising quarantine or other antiviral strategies.

The study mentions the need for doctors, particularly gastroenterologists, to remain very vigilant, specifically while encountering hepatitis-like symptoms when there’s a COVID-19 outbreak or a rise in infections.

The study mentions that the clinical and pathological profiles of novel coronavirus hepatitis are still not properly defined. “We don’t yet know how liver-infecting SARS CoV 2 behaves, how severe the injury may be, or how it should influence treatment decisions.” The study highlights the concern.

These uncertainties in diagnosis highlight the need for more intense research, including liver biopsies, pathology studies, and detailed clinical follow-ups comparing the viral infections or autoimmune hepatitis with that of coronavirus-induced liver disease.

The study mentions and calls for an advancement of the mechanism of diagnosis during the COVID 19 outbreak. When any patient is faced with hepatitis symptoms then the doctors should test for SARS CoV 2 and consider evaluating the health condition while taking a liver biopsy at the epicentre of the diagnosis process.

The approach aims to reduce any misdiagnosis and ensures that patients are able to able to receive accurate help which timely, and context-specific care.

“Because the pandemic continues to spread and worsen, it is of great importance to accurately judge hepatitis in clinical practice. More studies are needed to confirm the pathological and clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus hepatitis, so as to better serve the clinical applications. After all, we do not want to cause missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of novel coronavirus-related diseases.” The study published in the National Library of Medicine added.

During When there’s a COVID 19 outbreak, the overlap in symptoms between classical hepatitis and novel coronavirus infection is very possible. The research puts forward a dual framework separating incidental confection from true coronavirus-driven hepatitis. As overlooking the latter can risk a misdiagnosis. However, more research is essential to understand how SARS CoV 2 affects the liver, to find how doctors can diagnose and treat patients with overlapping coronavirus and hepatic symptoms.