Baseline characteristics of patients with COVID-19
| Overall (n=299) | Normal liver function throughout (n=165) | Abnormal liver function on or during course of admission (n=134) | P value | |
| Age, years* | 70.3±17.1 | 73.8±16.5 | 65.7±17.0 | <0.001 |
| Male, n (%) | 175 (58.5) | 91 (55.2) | 84 (62.7) | 0.188 |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
| White | 211 (70.6) | 127 (77.0) | 84 (62.7) | 0.007 |
| Asian | 39 (13.0) | 16 (9.70) | 23 (17.2) | |
| Black African-Caribbean | 12 (4.01) | 5 (3.03) | 7 (5.22) | |
| Mixed | 3 (1.00) | 2 (1.21) | 1 (0.75) | |
| Other | 34 (11.4) | 15 (9.09) | 19 (14.2) | |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 120 (40.1) | 69 (41.8) | 51 (38.1) | 0.510 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 77 (25.8) | 46 (27.9) | 31 (23.1) | 0.351 |
| Chronic respiratory disease* | 68 (22.7) | 41 (24.8) | 27 (20.1) | 0.335 |
| Cardiac disease* | 72 (24.1) | 51 (30.9) | 21 (15.7) | 0.002 |
| Immunosuppression, n (%) | ||||
| Any immunosuppression | 34 (11.4) | 24 (14.5) | 10 (7.46) | 0.055 |
| Corticosteroid | 15 (5.02) | 8 (4.85) | 7 (5.22) | |
| Thiopurine | 2 (0.67) | 1 (0.61) | 1 (0.75) | |
| Methotrexate | 7 (2.34) | 7 (4.24) | 0 (0) | |
| Calcineurin inhibitor | 2 (0.67) | 2 (1.21) | 0 (0) | |
| Mycophenolate | 2 (0.67) | 2 (1.21) | 0 (0) | |
| Biologic therapy | 1 (0.33) | 1 (0.61) | 0 (0) | |
| Haematological malignancy | 11 (3.68) | 8 (4.85) | 3 (2.24) | |
| Recent chemotherapy | 5 (1.67) | 4 (2.42) | 1 (0.75) | |
| Medication during admission, n (%) | ||||
| ACE inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker | 71 (23.7) | 40 (24.2) | 31 (23.1) | 0.823 |
| ACE inhibitor | 41 (13.7) | 25 (15.2) | 16 (11.9) | 0.422 |
| Angiotensin II receptor blocker | 30 (10.0) | 15 (9.09) | 15 (11.2) | 0.547 |
| Antibiotics | 288 (96.3) | 156 (94.5) | 132 (98.5) | 0.07 |
| Lopinavir–ritonavir | 1 (0.33) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.75) | 0.266 |
| Biochemical markers (peak) | ||||
| C reactive protein, mg/L | 175.6±124.7 | 158.6±118.0 | 196.3±129.6 | 0.01 |
| Ferritin, µg/L† | 1875.5±4184.7 | 1083.9±1189.2 | 2542.4±5470.0 | <0.001 |
| LDH, U/L† | 523.5±280.7 | 434.3±148.4 | 572.8±323.9 | 0.026 |
Data are presented as n (%) and mean±SD.
P values refer to the comparison between patients with or without liver function derangement. P values <0.05 are in bold.
*Chronic respiratory disease is defined as a history of obstructive or restrictive lung disease, previous tuberculosis, pulmonary embolism, obstructive sleep apnoea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome or lung malignancy. Cardiac disease is defined as a history of ischaemic heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, conduction defects or cardiac arrhythmia.
†Note that the total number of patients with values for ferritin and LDH recorded were 119 and 80, respectively.
LDH, lactate dehydrogenase.