Hepatobiliary manifestations of COVID-19 and their impact on severity and outcomes in a single center in Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Journal of medicine and life 2022-08, Vol.15 (8), p.987-993
• Main Authors: Al Argan, Reem, Ismail, Mona, AlKhafaji, Dania, Alsulaiman, Raed, Ismaeel, Fatimah, AlSulaiman, Reem, Alsheekh, Lameyaa, Alsaif, Tariq, Alkuwaiti, Feras, Al Said, Abir, Alqatari, Safi, Alwaheed, Abrar, Alzaki, Alaa, Al Wazzeh, Marwan, AlQuorain, Abdulaziz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comorbidity; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease; Enzymes; Hospitals; Immune system; Laboratories; Liver; Observational studies; Original; Pandemics; Pneumonia; Ventilators
• ISSN: 1844-122X; 1844-3117
• DOI: 10.25122/jml-2022-0047

Recognizing hepatic manifestations of COVID-19 and their impact on the severity and outcome is crucial in managing this emerging pandemic. However, we lack such reported data in Saudi Arabia regarding this clinical entity. This is a retrospective observational study conducted on 387 patients with COVID-19 disease who were hospitalized at King Fahad Hospital of the University from March-September 2020. The total cohort was divided into two groups: liver and non-liver involvement. Then, the frequency of hepatic manifestations was determined, followed by comparing severity and outcome among the two study groups. A total of 387 patients were included, of which 72.87% had hepatic manifestations. The most prevalent abnormalities were high LDH in 308 (79.58%) followed by AST 205 (52.97%), GGTP 124 (31.26%), ALT 74 (19.12%), PT/INR 66 (17.05%), direct bilirubin 51 (12.40%), total bilirubin 46 (11.88%), and low albumin 48 (12.4%). Univariate analyses showed that liver involvement was significantly associated with severe (31.91%) and critical (34.75%) presentation (P