The COVID-19 pandemic, declared on march 2020, made the concepts of social isolation and
lockdown a part of the daily routine of Brazil and the whole world. A potentially lethal virus,
for which there was no perspective for treatment, changed the operation of medical assitance,
and, thereafter, the follow-up of cronic diseases, cirrhosis being emphasized here. The main
objective of this study was to identify the frequence of clinical descompensation during the
pandemic on a group of cirrhotic patients, besides evaluating which routine habits could present
as risk factors for this worse outcome. This case-control’s casuistry was composed by 21
patients, to whom a questionnaire was applied, focusing on the occurrence of ascites, hepatic
encephalopathy, variceal bleeding, hospitalization, COVID-19 infection, and on the life style
and weight change since March/2020. It was also realized the analysis of medical records and
laboratorial tests, to stratify cirrhosis based on Child-Pugh score. The data was computed and
submitted to statistical analysis to evaluate its correlation. The relative frequency of clinical
descompensation on the group was 61,9%, and there was no risk factors statistically significant.
It was observed that the occurrence of cirrhosis’ complications during the evaluated period was
associed to a higher pontuation on the current Child-Pugh score. The most frequent type of
descompensation was ascites, and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus was the most common
etiology. During the results evaluation and its correlation with the literature, the current study
met the proposed objectives and generated more hypotheses, especially about the possibility of
increased mortality in cirrhotic patients during the pandemic, and in regard to the long term
impact that the 2020-present moment period might have on the prognosis of these patients.
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