<p>Alteration of Liver Biomarkers in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)</p>
Pourya Gholizadeh, Rohollah Safari, Parham Marofi, Elham Zeinalzadeh, Pasquale Pagliano, Khudaverdi Ganbarov, Silvano Esposito, Ehsaneh Khodadadi, Mehdi Yousefi, Hossein Samadi Kafil
Abstract
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China and spread worldwide. In this study, we assessed the characteristics of markers of the liver in patients with COVID-19 to provide new insights in improving clinical treatment. Patients and Methods: We recruited 279 patients who confirmed COVID-19 and the data of liver biomarkers and complete blood count of patients were defined as the day onset when the patients admitted to the hospital. Results: The average of LDH value was 621.29 U/L in all patients with COVID-19, and CPK was 286.90 U/L. The average AST was 44.03 U/L in all patients, and ALT was 31.14 U/L. The AST/ALT ratio was 1.64 in all patients. The measurement of CRP was increased by 79.93% in all patients. Average ALT and AST values of patients with elevated ALT were significantly increased in comparison to patients with normal ALT ( P -value = 0.001), while AST/ALT ratio was significantly decreased compared to patients with normal ALT ( P -value= 0.014). In addition, the average LDH of patients with elevated ALT was significantly increased compared to patients with normal ALT ( P -value = 0.014). Conclusion: Hepatic injury and abnormal liver enzymes related to COVID-19 infection is an acute non-specific inflammation alteration. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, hepatic injury, liver enzymes, aminotransferases