Post-transplant immunosuppression and COVID-19: From a double whammy to a mixed blessing

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had an unprecedented effect on various disease processes and their management. COVID-19 is likely to have a complex pathophysiological interplay with the post-transplant patients; one affecting the clinical course and outcome of the other. In the absence of validated data from trials, there is strong dependence on experience based on previous similar epidemics (SARS/MERS), and from consensus based on expert opinions. Despite the fact that our knowledge is rapidly evolving with time, there still is relatively limited objective data on the effect of COVID-19 on the human body. Numerous questions remain unanswered, one of which involves the management of immunosuppression in the post-transplant recipient during this contagion. The core tenet of which continues to be that of establishing an equipoise between infection and rejection. This review summarises the current knowledge on immune interactions of the virus, the immunomodulatory effects that may be at play, and its relation to the art of immunosuppression.