Acute Liver Injury in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19.

Abstract

IntroductionThe prevalence and significance of acute liver injury in patients with COVID-19 are poorly characterized.MethodsPatients with confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized in geographically diverse medical centers in North America were included. Demographics, symptoms, laboratory data results, and outcomes were recorded. Linear and logistic regression identified factors associated with liver injury, in-hospital mortality, and length of stay (LOS).ResultsAmong 1555 patients in the cohort, most (74%) had an elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) during hospitalization, which was very severe (> 20 × upper limit of normal [ULN]) in 3%. Severe acute liver injury (ALI) was uncommon, occurring in 0.1% on admission and 2% during hospitalization. No patient developed acute liver failure (ALF). Higher ALT was associated with leukocytosis (per mL3) (β 10.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.7–12.6, p < 0.001) and vasopressors use (β 80.2, 95%CI 21.5–138.8, p = 0.007). In-hospital mortality was associated with ALT > 20 × ULN (unadjusted OR 6.0, 95%CI 3.1–11.5, p < 0.001), ALP > 3 × ULN (unadjusted OR 4.4, 95%CI 2.5–7.7, p < 0.001), and severe ALI (unadjusted OR 6.8, 95%CI 3.0–15.3, p < 0.001) but lost significance after adjusting for covariates related to severe COVID-19 and hemodynamic instability. Elevated ALP and ALT were associated with longer LOS, admission to intensive care, mechanical ventilation, vasopressor use, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use (p < 0.001).ConclusionsTransaminase elevation is common in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Severe ALI is rare, and ALF may not be a complication of COVID-19. Extreme elevations in liver enzymes appear to be associated with mortality and longer LOS due to more severe systemic disease rather than SARS-CoV-2-related hepatitis.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10620-021-07230-9.