Abnormal liver tests in patients hospitalized with Coronavirus disease 2019: should we worry?

While several studies from China have reported COVID-19-related liver injury, there are currently no data on liver dysfunction in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Europe. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and predictive value of abnormal liver function in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. This was a retrospective cohort study of confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in two referral hospitals in France. Clinical, biological, and radiological data were collected and analyzed. Two hundred and thirty-four patients confirmed to have COVID-19 by RT-PCR were included. Liver function was abnormal in 66.6% of patients on admission. In multivariate logistic regression, abnormal liver test on admission were associated with in-hospital aggravation (OR=4.1, 95%CI 1.5-10.8; p=0.004) and mortality (OR 3.3; 95% CI=1.04-10.5; p=0.04). This study of liver tests in a European COVID-19 population confirms a high prevalence of abnormal liver tests on admission that are predictive of severe disease course and higher in-hospital mortality.