Review of Liver Enzymes Abnormalities in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Background: Liver function derangements have been reported in COVID-19, but reported rates are variable. Treatment in intensive care units (ICU) has become a major challenge; therefore, early recognition of severe and critical cases is absolutely essential for timely triaging of patients. Objectives: to review incidence of acute liver injury in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Patients and methods: obtaining clinical records and laboratory results prospectively from one hundred patients with PCR-confirmed or radiography-confirmed COVID-19, who are admitted to the isolation wards and emergency departments of three different hospitals in Baghdad from 1st of December 2020 to 31st of March 2021. Results: The mean age group of study sample was (61.2±12.36) years, males formed 59%. GI manifestations were recorded in 47% of total cases, and were statistically correlated with disease severity (P value 0.001). Wide range of LFT abnormalities are found in patients with COVID-19, but none of which showed statistical significance in relation to disease severity. When LFT results were reviewed in relation to previous comorbidities, GGT was found to be statistically correlated with the underlying CLD (P value 0.001), and ALP with both underlying CLD and DM (P values <0.001 and 0.029, respectively) and even in the absence of underlying comorbidity (P value 0.006). Conclusion: Liver enzyme derangements are increasingly reported in patients with COVID-19, but are not necessarily correlate with disease severity. Cholestatic picture of liver enzyme derangement is a more commonly recorded manifestation.