{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T06:52:34Z","timestamp":1783493554210,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,27]],"date-time":"2024-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706313600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["UEG Journal"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>In the third year of the SARS\u2010CoV\u20102 pandemic, little is known about the vaccine\u2010 and infection\u2010induced immune response in liver transplant recipients (LTR) and liver cirrhosis patients (LCP).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>This cross\u2010sectional study assessed the vaccination coverage, infection rate, and the resulting humoral and cellular SARS\u2010CoV\u20102\u2010specific immune responses in a cohort of LTR and LCP at the University Medical Center Hamburg\u2010Eppendorf, Germany between March and May 2023.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Clinical and laboratory data from 244 consecutive patients (160 LTR and 84 LCP) were collected via chart review and a patient survey. Immune responses were determined via standard spike(S)\u2010 and nucleocapsid\u2010protein serology and a spike\u2010specific Interferon\u2010gamma release assay (IGRA).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>On average, LTR and LCP were vaccinated 3.7 and 3.3 times, respectively and 59.4% of patients received \u22654 vaccinations. Altogether, 68.1% (109\/160) of LTR and 70.2% (59\/84) of LCP experienced a SARS\u2010CoV\u20102 infection. Most infections occurred during the Omicron wave in 2022 after an average of 3.0 vaccinations. Overall, the hospitalization rate was low (&lt;6%) in both groups. An average of 4.3 antigen contacts by vaccination and\/or infection resulted in a seroconversion rate of 98.4%. However, 17.5% (28\/160) of LTR and 8.3% (7\/84) of LCP demonstrated only low anti\u2010S titers (&lt;1000 AU\/ml), and 24.6% (16\/65) of LTR and 20.4% (10\/59) of LCP had negative or low IGRA responses. Patients with hybrid immunity (vaccination plus infection) elicited significantly higher anti\u2010S titers compared with uninfected patients with the same number of spike antigen contacts. A total of 22.2% of patients refused additional booster vaccinations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>By spring 2023, high vaccination coverage and infection rate have resulted in a robust, mostly hybrid, humoral and cellular immune response in most LTR and LCP. However, booster vaccinations with vaccines covering new variants seem advisable, especially in patients with low immune responses and risk factors for severe disease.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/ueg2.12528","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,27]],"date-time":"2024-01-27T12:34:11Z","timestamp":1706358851000},"page":"339-351","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["High vaccination coverage and infection rate result in a robust SARS\u2010CoV\u20102\u2010specific immunity in the majority of liver cirrhosis and transplant patients: A single\u2010center cross\u2010sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6277-5464","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"P.","family":"von der Schulenburg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"I. 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