Dynamic monitoring of serum liver function indexes in patients with COVID-19
Open Access
- 6 March 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. in World Journal of Clinical Cases
- Vol. 9 (7), 1554-1562
- https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v9.i7.1554
Abstract
Some patients with the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) display elevated liver enzymes. Some antiviral drugs that can be used against COVID-19 are associated with a risk of hepatotoxicity. To analyze the clinical significance of the dynamic monitoring of the liver function of patients with COVID-19. This was a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in January and February 2020 at the Department of Infection, Shantou Central Hospital. The exclusion criteria for all patients were: (1) History of chronic liver disease; (2) History of kidney disease; (3) History of coronary heart disease; (4) History of malignancy; or (5) History of diabetes. The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase, and total bilirubin of patients with COVID-19 were measured on days 1, 3, 7 and 14 after admission, and compared to non-COVID-19 patents. Twelve patients with COVID-19 (seven men and five women) and twelve controls (eight men and four women) were included. There were one, two, and nine patients with severe, mild, and moderate COVID-19, respectively. There were no differences in age and sex between the two groups (both P > 0.05). No significant differences were found in albumin, ALT, AST, γ-glutamyltransferase, or total bilirubin between the controls and the patients with COVID-19 on day 1 of hospitalization (all P > 0.05). Serum albumin showed a decreasing trend from days 0 to 7 of hospitalization, reaching the lowest level on day 7. Total bilirubin was higher on day 3 than on day 7. ALT, AST, and γ-glutamyltransferase did not change significantly over time. The severe patient was observed to have ALT levels of 67 U/L and AST levels of 75 U/L on day 7, ALT of 71 U/L and AST of 35 U/L on day 14, and ALT of 210 U/L and AST of 123 U/L on day 21. Changes in serum liver function indicators are not obvious in the early stage of COVID-19, but clinically significant changes might be observed in severe COVID-19.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, ChinaJAMA, 2020
- Clinical findings in a group of patients infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) outside of Wuhan, China: retrospective case seriesBMJ, 2020
- [The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China].2020
- Specific ACE2 Expression in Cholangiocytes May Cause Liver Damage After 2019-nCoV InfectionPublished by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ,2020
- Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, ChinaThe Lancet, 2020
- Liver Cirrhosis is Independently Associated With 90-Day Mortality in ARDS PatientsShock, 2016
- Cardiac arrest-induced regional blood–brain barrier breakdown, edema formation and brain pathology: a light and electron microscopic study on a new model for neurodegeneration and neuroprotection in porcine brainJournal of Neural Transmission, 2010
- Hepatotoxicity of antiretrovirals: Incidence, mechanisms and managementJournal of Hepatology, 2006
- Pharmacokinetics and hepatotoxicity of lopinavir/ritonavir in non-cirrhotic HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infected patientsJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2005