Elevated transaminases and hypoalbuminemia in Covid-19 are prognostic factors for disease severity.

Prognostic markers are needed to understand the disease course and severity in patients with Covid-19. There is evidence that Covid-19 causes gastrointestinal symptoms and abnormalities in liver enzymes. We aimed to determine if hepatobiliary laboratory data could predict disease severity in patients with Covid-19. In this retrospective, single institution, cohort study that analyzed patients admitted to a community academic hospital with the diagnosis of Covid-19, we found that elevations of Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) at any time during hospital admission increased the odds of ICU admission by 5.12 (95% CI: 1.55-16.89; p = 0.007), 4.71 (95% CI: 1.51-14.69; p = 0.01) and 4.12 (95% CI: 1.21-14.06, p = 0.02), respectively. Hypoalbuminemia found at the time of admission to the hospital was associated with increased mortality (p = 0.02), hypotension (p = 0.03), and need for vasopressors (p = 0.02), intubation (p = 0.01) and hemodialysis (p = 0.002). Additionally, there was evidence of liver injury: AST was significantly elevated above baseline in patients admitted to the ICU (54.2 ± 15.70 U/L) relative to those who were not (9.2 ± 4.89 U/L; p = 0.01). Taken together, this study found that hypoalbuminemia and abnormalities in hepatobiliary laboratory data may be prognostic factors for disease severity in patients admitted to the hospital with Covid-19.

Elevated D-Dimer Is Associated with Multiple Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients: a Retrospective Cohort Study.

D-dimer is a prognostic marker for Covid-19 disease mortality and severity in hospitalized patients; however, little is known about the association between D-dimer and other clinical outcomes. The aim of this paper was to define a threshold of D-dimer to use in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 and to assess its utility in prognosticating in-hospital mortality, development of an acute kidney injury (AKI), and need for hemodialysis, vasopressors, or intubation. This is a single-center, retrospective, cohort review study of 100 predominantly minority patients (94%) hospitalized with Covid-19. The electronic medical record system was used to collect data. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) analysis were used to determine optimal thresholds of peak D-dimer, defined as the highest D-dimer obtained during admission that was clinically meaningful. Odds ratios were then used to assess the relationship between peak D-dimer thresholds and clinical outcomes. D-dimer > 2.1 µg/mL and > 2.48 µg/mL had > 90% sensitivity and > 50% specificity for predicting need for vasopressors (AUC 0.80) or intubation (AUC 0.83) and in-hospital mortality (AUC 0.89), respectively. Additionally, D-dimer > 4.86 µg/mL had a 100% sensitivity and 81% specificity for predicting the need for hemodialysis (AUC 0.92). Furthermore, peak D-dimer > 2.48 µg/mL was associated with in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001), development of an AKI (p = 0.002), and need for intubation (p < 0.001), hemodialysis (p < 0.001), and vasopressors (p < 0.001). Peak D-dimer > 2.48 µg/mL may be a useful threshold that is prognostic of multiple clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with Covid-19.

The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium Score at Admission Is Prognostic of Covid-19 Disease Severity.

Covid-19 is a systemic viral respiratory illness that can cause gastrointestinal manifestations. There is evidence that Covid-19 can infect liver tissue and may cause transaminemia. A prognostic model is needed to aid clinicians in determining disease severity. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium (MELD-Na) score is a mortality assessment tool in liver transplant patients that has been found to be prognostic in other clinical situations. This study aimed to determine if the MELD-Na score was associated with disease severity in patients with Covid-19, as assessed by multiple clinical outcomes including death within 30 days of discharge and development of an acute kidney injury (AKI). This is a retrospective cohort study that analyzed patients admitted to a community academic hospital with the diagnosis of Covid-19. The 30-day MELD-Na score was found to be significantly higher in those who died (14.38 ± 6.92) relative to those who survived (9.68 ± 5.69; p = 0.03). Additionally, patients with a MELD-Na score greater than 10 were found to have higher risk of developing an AKI (odds ratio (OR) 3.31 (1.08, 10.17); p = 0.03), need for hemodialysis (OR 9.69 (1.74, 53.96); p = 0.007), require vasopressors (OR 4.55 (1.22, 16.99); p = 0.02), and have a longer hospital stay (OR 4.17 (1.05, 16.47); p = 0.03). The MELD-Na score may serve as a useful clinical scoring system for prognosis in patients admitted to the hospital with Covid-19.