Characteristics and change patterns of liver function in 105 hospitalized adults patients with COVID-19 in Beijing, China

Abstract 【Background】Previous studies showed that some coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients might have some degree of liver biochemical abnormalities. However, no data on the stratified analysis and change patterns of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin(TBil) have been reported.【Methods】We performed a single-center, retrospective study. 105 hospitalized COVID-19 adults in Beijing Ditan Hospital fromJan.12,2020 to Mar.17,2020 were enrolled. Then we observed the characteristics and change patterns of ALT, AST, or TBil in the patients.【Results】Ages of patients ranged 18-92 years old, with a median age of 43.4 years for mild ill group and 58.2 years for severe ill group (p < 0.001). The patients were hospitalized for a median of 22 days. 89 patients underwent abdominal ultrasound scans for fatty liver, with an overall proportion approximately 41.6%. 17 (16.2%) patients had abnormally elevated levelsALT. ALT and AST abnormalities occurred in 48.0% of severe ill group patients, compared to 13.9% of mild ill group. 19 (18.1%) patients showed ALT, AST and TBil levels≥2×ULN. 9 patients showed any index≥3×ULN. ALT, AST, and TBil levels≥2×ULN were observed in only 1 critically ill patient. All patients could be divided into 4 kinds of patterns based on the ALT index of baseline and hospitalization: Continuous normal (64.7%), normal and then abnormal(19.0%), abnormal and then normal(8.6%),continuous abnormal(7.6%).【Conclusion】Although elevated liver function indexes are common in patients with COVID-19 infection, most non-severe ill patients only show mild abnormalities or transient increases.