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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Oct;92(10):1825-1833.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26055. Epub 2020 Jul 27.

COVID-19 and liver dysfunction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of retrospective studies

Mohanad Youssef  1 , Mohammad H Hussein  1 , Abdallah S Attia  1 , Rami M Elshazli  2 , Mahmoud Omar  1 , Ghassan Zora  1 , Ashraf S Farhoud  1 , Ahmad Elnahla  1 , Areej Shihabi  1 , Eman A Toraih  1   3 , Manal S Fawzy  4   5 , Emad Kandil  6
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

COVID-19 and liver dysfunction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of retrospective studies

Mohanad Youssef et al. J Med Virol. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the most significant global health crisis. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis to find the association between liver injuries and the severity of COVID-19 disease. Online databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Science direct, were searched to detect relevant publications up to 16 April 2020. Depending on the heterogeneity between studies, a fixed- or random-effects model was applied to pool data. Publication bias Egger's test was also performed. Meta-analysis of 20 retrospective studies (3428 patients), identified that patients with a severe manifestation of COVID-19 exhibited significantly higher levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and bilirubin values with prolonged prothrombin time. Furthermore, lower albumin level was associated with a severe presentation of COVID-19. Liver dysfunction was associated with a severe outcome of COVID-19 disease. Close monitoring of the occurrence of liver dysfunction is beneficial in early warning of unfavorable outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; liver function; meta-analysis; outcome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The workflow of the selection process
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trial sequential analysis for mortality
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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