The Spleen as an Extrapulmonary Target of COVID-19. | ||
| Afro-Egyptian Journal of Infectious and Endemic Diseases | ||
| Article 13, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2021, Pages 96-99 PDF (295.78 K) | ||
| Document Type: Letter to the editor | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/aeji.2021.60611.1133 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Wesam Hassan1; Haidi Ramadan* 2; Ghada Omran3 | ||
| 1Assiut Center for Viral Hepatitis Management, Ministry of Health, Assiut, Egypt. | ||
| 2Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology Department, Assiut University, Assiut,Egypt. | ||
| 3Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut , Egypt. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| The spleen has been recently reported as one of the unusual extrapulmonary organs that can be affected by COVID-19. Different splenic lesions were described in COVID-19 patients. Herein, we summarize a few recent reports that have described splenic lesions in association with COVID-19. Splenic infarction was reported frequently, ruptured spleen and splenic abscess were also reported. Splenic involvement in COVID -19 can be caused through direct virus damage of the spleen and/or COVID-19 induced microvascular thrombosis and vasculitis.The hypercoagulable state induced by COVID-19 virus lead to splenic artery or vein thrombosis and splenic infarction development due to splenic hypoperfusion. The spleen may be an extrapulmonary target of COVID-19 virus and abdominal pain is alarming in COVID-19 infection, it may indicate a serious condition. Computed tomography (CT) abdomen is helpful in diagnosis of splenic complications secondary to COVID-19. Early diagnosis and intervention is life saving in most of these patients. Emergency surgical laparotomy and splenectomy is life-saving in these cases. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| COVID-19; spleen; extrapulmonary | ||
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