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World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2021; 13(12): 1909-1918
Published online Dec 27, 2021. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v13.i12.1909
Liver function in COVID-19 infection
Dagmara Przekop, Ewa Gruszewska, Lech Chrostek
Dagmara Przekop, Diagnostics-Experimental Center of Sexually Transmissible Diseases, Bialystok 15-879, Poland
Ewa Gruszewska, Lech Chrostek, Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok 15-269, Poland
Author contributions: Przekop D, Gruszewska E and Chrostek L wrote the paper, contributing equally to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lech Chrostek, MD, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, Waszyngtona 15A, Bialystok 15-269, Poland. chrostek@umb.edu.pl
Received: February 25, 2021
Peer-review started: February 25, 2021
First decision: May 3, 2021
Revised: May 7, 2021
Accepted: November 24, 2021
Article in press: November 24, 2021
Published online: December 27, 2021
Processing time: 304 Days and 7.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The frequency of abnormalities in liver function tests (LFTs) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected patients increases with age and is observed in males more than females. A pre-existing history of liver disease and comorbidity increases LFT abnormality and the likelihood of severe liver damage in COVID-19 infection. Antiviral treatment and treatment of comorbid diseases intensifies the hepatotoxic effect on the liver, which often manifests itself in higher levels in LFTs.