ABSTRACT
AIM OF THE STUDY: We aimed to study liver function test abnormalities in our COVID-19 patients and factors affecting them and to evaluate whether liver function test abnormalities are related to the severity of COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our retrospective study included 118 patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive. Their median age was 40 years. Fifty percent were male. Clinical and biochemical data were collected from patient records during the period from the start of June 2020 to the end of July 2020. Liver function test abnormalities included: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 40 U/l, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 40 U/l, serum albumin < 3.5 mg/dl, total bilirubin > 1.2 mg/dl, and international normalized ratio (INR) > 1.2. RESULTS: Forty-four percent of COVID-19 patients had liver function test (LFT) abnormalities. In patients with severe SARS-CoV-2, AST, total bilirubin and INR levels were significantly higher than in patients with the non-severe disease. Levels of hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum ferritin, D-dimer, and serum glucose were significantly higher in SARS-CoV-2 patients with LFT abnormalities than those with normal liver function. CONCLUSIONS: LFT abnormalities are very common in SARS-CoV2 positive patients, especially those with the severe form. Levels of ESR, CRP, serum ferritin, and D-dimer were higher in COVID-19 patients with LFT abnormalities than those with normal LFT. High serum ferritin levels might be potential risk factors for LFT abnormalities.
ABSTRACT
With the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected patients increasing all over the world, a large number of survivors have reported changes in their quality of life or experienced re-infection. So, we aimed to detect the percentage, type, and risk factors of persistent symptoms after improvement from acute COVID-19 infection and to detect the percentage of COVID-19 re-infection and degree of severity of the second infection. One hundred seventy-two (59 male, 113 female) patients who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were followed up via mobile phone every 2 months for 8 to 10 months. After recovery, 105 patients (61%) (30 male, 75 female) reported one or more COVID-19 persistent symptoms. Fatigue, dyspnea, and depression were the most common persistent symptoms representing 37.3%, 22%, 22%, respectively. We found that age was independently related to the persistence of symptoms. During the follow-up, six females (3.5%) had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 re-infection. Their mean age was 35.7 ± 11 years. The mean interval from the complete recovery of the first infection to the onset of the second one was 53 ± 22.2 days and ranged from 30 to 90 days. The second infection was milder in severity than the first infection in 83.33% of cases. There was a high percentage of patients who complained of persistent symptoms after recovery from COVID-19. Fatigue and headache were the most common persistent symptoms. Age was considered a risk factor for persistent symptoms. Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 can occur after recovery.