Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Risk factors and prognostic markers of severe disease remain to be fully determined, although some studies have suggested a correlation between abnormal liver function and adverse outcomes. Further studies are needed to investigate this further. Methods This retrospective study enrolled patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 who were admitted to Kingston Hospital in the UK. Data collected included age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidity profile, biochemical markers of liver function and the acute phase response, and overall outcome. Results Between 16 March 2020 and 30 April 2020, a total of 343 patients were admitted to the acute medical team at Kingston Hospital. Excluding those with a history of liver disease, 299 patients had liver function tests performed with abnormalities demonstrated in 44.8% of individuals. Derangement of liver function was associated with greater need for ventilatory support (p<0.001), admission to high dependency unit or intensive care (p<0.001) and increased length of hospital stay (p<0.001). Of note, liver dysfunction was more common in those of non-white ethnicity (p=0.007) and correlated with higher levels of C reactive protein (p=0.01) and ferritin (p<0.001). Conclusion Abnormal liver function is associated with a negative outcome among those hospitalised with COVID-19. The cause for this association is unclear, but correlation between abnormal liver function and higher serum levels of acute phase proteins suggest that dysregulation of the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 may be contributory. Data are available upon reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 肝功能障碍：严重疾病的有用预后标志物？

背景 COVID-19 是由新型冠状病毒 SARS-CoV-2 引起的全球大流行。尽管一些研究表明肝功能异常与不良后果之间存在相关性，但严重疾病的危险因素和预后标志物仍有待完全确定。需要进一步的研究来进一步调查这一点。方法 这项回顾性研究纳入了英国金斯顿医院确诊的 COVID-19 患者。收集的数据包括年龄、性别、种族、合并症概况、肝功能生化标志物和急性期反应以及总体结果。结果 2020年3月16日至2020年4月30日期间，金斯顿医院急症医疗队共收治了343名患者。排除有肝病史的患者，299 名患者进行了肝功能检查，44.8% 的患者出现肝功能异常。肝功能紊乱与对通气支持的更大需求（p<0.001）、进入高度依赖病房或重症监护室（p<0.001）以及住院时间增加（p<0.001）相关。值得注意的是，肝功能障碍在非白人中更为常见 (p=0.007)，并且与较高水平的 C 反应蛋白 (p=0.01) 和铁蛋白 (p<0.001) 相关。结论 肝功能异常与 COVID-19 住院患者的阴性结果相关。这种关联的原因尚不清楚，但肝功能异常与急性期蛋白血清水平升高之间的相关性表明，免疫系统对 SARS-CoV-2 的反应失调可能是造成这种关联的原因。数据可根据合理要求提供。与该研究相关的所有数据都包含在文章中。