{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:41:57Z","timestamp":1760060517897,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]],"date-time":"2025-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems globally, raising concerns about its negative impact on patients with chronic liver diseases by contributing to hepatic decompensations such as acute variceal bleeding (AVB). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical outcomes in cirrhotic patients with AVB in Germany. Methods: This retrospective national multicenter study compared patients with cirrhosis and AVB treated at four tertiary care centers in Germany before (2016\u20132020) and during the pandemic (2020\u20132022). The primary endpoint was 6-week mortality, and secondary outcomes included infections, transfusion requirement and rebleeding. Results: The baseline characteristics of the 247 patients were largely comparable between the two groups, however metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease was more prevalent during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period (12.5% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.048). Only one patient tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Six-week mortality (32.2% vs. 30.1%; p = 0.767) and rebleeding rates (22.8% vs. 22.3%; p = 1.000) did not differ significantly between groups. Interestingly, intubation rates, length of stay on the intensive care unit, post AVB infection rates and types of infection were also comparable (all p &gt; 0.05), while transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement (TIPS) after bleeding was performed more frequently during the pandemic (23.2% vs. 11.3%, p = 0.019). Conclusions: Relevant patient-related AVB outcomes were unaffected during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest the resilience of critical AVB management practices in German tertiary centers. The increased use of TIPS and MASLD prevalence during the pandemic may reflect evolving clinical practice and patient profiles warranting further investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14176166","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T13:01:13Z","timestamp":1756818073000},"page":"6166","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Acute Variceal Bleeding During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A National Multicenter Observational Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7568-7431","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriel","family":"Allo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9391-4111","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefanie","family":"Quickert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karsten","family":"Gro\u00dfe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-5769-4096","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sidar","family":"Baysal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplant Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Nierhoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7351-1387","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christoph","family":"Neumann-Haefelin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christoph","family":"Schramm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplant Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5576-6914","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tony","family":"Bruns","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7696-475X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philipp Alexander","family":"Reuken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8940-7696","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"B\u00fcrger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"575","DOI":"10.2147\/RMHP.S293471","article-title":"The Effects of the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chronic Disease Management: A Narrative Review","volume":"14","author":"Kendzerska","year":"2021","journal-title":"Risk Manag. 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