Evidence suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) likely leads to liver injury. There are only a few studies that have reported the impact of COVID-19 on liver function in patients with chronic liver diseases.

A study published recently in the Journal of Medical Virology describes a case series of COVID-19 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Investigators included confirmed hospitalized COVID-19 patients from hospitals in 10 cities of Jiangsu province, China from January 18, 2020, through February 26, 2020. Data were obtained on demographic information, epidemiologic data, clinical features and treatment from medical records.

In all, 7 COVID-19 patients with chronic HBV infection were included in this study. Six (85.7%) patients were male and the age ranged from 33 years to 49 years. Two patients had HBV-related cirrhosis. One patient (14.3%) was positive for serum hepatitis B virus e antigen. On admission, 1 (14.3%) patient was found to have mildly elevated ALT level (>40 U/L) and 1 (14.3%) had elevated AST level (>40 U/L). Serum albumin and platelet counts were decreased in 2 patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis. Three (42.9%) patients had elevated ALT levels and 2 (28.6%) had elevated AST levels during hospitalization. The peak ALT and AST levels during hospitalization were 51 U/L and 44 U/L, respectively. As of February 29, 2020, all patients were discharged. No patient had to be admitted to the intensive care unit or developed liver failure during hospitalization.

Abnormalities of liver function were not uncommon in COVID-19 patients with chronic HBV infection in this case series. However, no patient was shown to develop severe liver-related complications during hospitalization.

Source: Li Y, Li C, Wang J, et al. A Case Series of COVID-19 Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection. J Med Virol. 2020 Jun 19.