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. 2022 Jan 16;14(1):e21302.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.21302. eCollection 2022 Jan.

COVID-19 and Liver Dysfunction

Nour Ibrahim  1 , Jad Hosri  1 , Yara Bteich  1 , Alfred Dib  2 , Antoine Abou Rached  3
Affiliations

COVID-19 and Liver Dysfunction

Nour Ibrahim et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Introduction The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused over four million deaths, depleting resources and healthcare workers; therefore, in an attempt to stratify patients, the relationship between liver enzymes and clinical outcome was studied. This study aimed to assess the pattern and impact of liver enzymes on the clinical outcome of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Lebanon and look for possible confounding factors. Methodology This was a single-centered retrospective cohort study conducted between December 2020 and March 2021 on 230 patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Liver function tests (LFTs) and other laboratory values on admission and peak hospitalization were analyzed using SPSS. Results The prevalence of abnormal liver tests among the sample population with severe COVID-19 infection were as follows: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), 77%; alanine aminotransferase (ALT), 49%; alkaline phosphatase (ALP), 12%; and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), 37%. A severe COVID-19 infection was more likely present in patients with abnormal levels of AST (p = 0.015), ALP (p = 0.03), and GGT (p = 0.022). ANOVA test revealed no significant relationship between AST levels at peak hospitalization and the treatments received by the patient. Conclusion Abnormal liver function tests of patients at admission may be an indicator of more severe disease. In the context of scarce resources created by the pandemic, it becomes essential to establish a reliable predictor for a severe outcome of COVID-19 infection and manage accordingly.

Keywords: cholestatic; coronavirus; hepatocellular; hepatotoxic; liver function tests.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Marked differences in several laboratory indicators between deceased and discharged patients
Death: gray Discharge: blue WBCs: white blood cells; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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