Features of liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Bozhou,China

Objective To investigate the condition of liver injury in different populations of patients with coronavirus disease 2019( COVID-2019),and to further understand the pathogenic characteristics of COVID-2019. Methods A total of 28 patients with COVID-2019 and liver injury who were admitted to the designated hospitals for COVID-2019 in Bozhou,China from February 1 to 12,2020 were enrolled,and they were divided into male group( n = 15) and female group( n = 13) according to sex or young group( n = 10) and middle-aged and elderly group( n = 17) according to age. The levels of alanine aminotransferase( ALT),aspartate aminotransferase( AST),gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase( GGT),alkaline phosphatase( ALP),and lactate dehydrogenase( LDH) were measured on admission. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups,the Fisher exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. Results Varying degrees of liver injury were observed in the 28 patients. There were no significant differences in the levels of ALT,AST,GGT,ALP,and LDH between the male group and the female group and between the young group and the middle-aged and elderly group( all P > 0. 05). There was no significant difference in abnormal rate of ALT,AST,GGT and LDH between male group and female group( all P > 0. 05); There was no significant difference in abnormal rate of ALT,AST,GGT between the young group and the middle-aged and elderly group( all P > 0. 05); there was a significant difference in abnormal rate of LDH between the young group and the middle-aged and elderly group( P < 0. 05). Conclusion Patients with COVID-2019 may experience different degrees of liver injury with the development of the disease,middle-aged and elderly patients tend to develop liver injury. There was no significant correlation with gender and age in mild and general patients. Therefore,liver function should be monitored in patients with COVID-2019,and the treatment method should be selected carefully to prevent liver injury.