Liver test abnormalities in asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients and their association with viral shedding time

Table 1 Characteristics of 661 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 by liver tests

	Liver tests
Characteristics	Normal	Abnormal	Injury	Total
Number (%)	578 (87.4)	77 (11.6)	6 (0.9)	661
Age, yr, median (IQR)	33 (27-44)	33 (29.5-40.5)	32.5 (30-48)	33 (27-44)
14-29	209 (36.1)	19 (24.7)	1 (16.7)	229 (34.6)
30-49	271 (46.9)	43 (55.8)	4 (66.7)	318 (48.1)
≥ 50	98 (17.0)	15 (19.5)	1 (16.7)	114 (17.2)
Males, n (%)	280 (48.4)	47 (61.0)	4 (66.7)	331 (50.1)
BMI, kg/m2, median (IQR)	22.7 (20.4-25.0)	23.5 (21.2-26.5)	25.8 (23.0-28.8)	22.8 (20.7-25.2)
< 18.5	33 (5.7)	3 (3.9)	0 (0)	36 (5.4)
18.5-23.9	320 (55.4)	37 (48.1)	3 (50)	360 (54.5)
24-27.9	149 (25.8)	24 (31.2)	0 (0)	173 (26.2)
> 28	38 (6.6)	10 (13.0)	3 (50)	51 (7.7)
Comorbidities, n (%)
Hypertension	36 (6.2)	3 (3.9)	1 (16.7)	40 (6.1)
Diabetes	22 (3.8)	2 (2.6)	2 (33.3)	26 (3.9)
Liver disease	30 (5.2)	24 (31.2)	3 (50)	57 (8.6)
Disease type, n (%)
Asymptomatic cases	37 (6.4)	5 (6.4)	0 (0)	42 (6.4)
Mild cases	541 (93.6)	72 (93.5)	6 (100)	619 (93.6)
Symptoms, n (%)
Fever	371 (64.2)	51 (66.2)	3 (50)	425 (64.3)
Fatigue	276 (47.8)	37 (48.1)	4 (33.3)	317 (48.0)
Respiratory symptoms	483 (83.6)	64 (83.1)	6 (100)	553 (83.7)
GI symptoms	170 (29.4)	26 (33.8)	1 (16.7)	197 (29.8)
Medication
Chinese medicine	336 (58.1)	40 (51.9)	6 (100)	382 (57.8)
NSAIDs	77 (13.3)	11 (14.3)	1 (16.7)	89 (13.5)
Other medicines for cold	82 (14.2)	9 (11.7)	0 (0)	91 (13.8)

IQR: Interquartile range; BMI: Body mass index; GI: Gastrointestinal; NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Table 2 Comparison of viral shedding time by liver tests and other characteristics

Characteristics		Viral shedding time (day, mean ± SD)	P value
Age, yr	14-29	10.31 ± 2.60	0.129
	30-49	10.55 ± 2.78
	≥ 50	10.96 ± 3.11
Gender	Male	10.27 ± 2.77	0.015
	Female	10.80 ± 2.78
BMI, kg/m2	< 27.9	10.62 ± 2.67	0.487
	≥ 28	10.90 ± 3.11
Comorbidities	Hypertension	10.51 ± 3.16	0.958
	Diabetes	11.04 ± 3.37	0.364
	Liver disease	10.41 ± 3.01	0.725
Disease type	Asymptomatic cases	9.26 ± 3.16	0.002
	Mild cases	10.62 ± 2.73
ALT	< 2×ULN	10.54 ± 2.78	0.983
	≥ 2×ULN	10.56 ± 2.74
AST	< 2×ULN	10.51 ± 2.76	0.033
	≥ 2×ULN	12.40 ± 3.57

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BMI: Body mass index; ULN: Upper limit of normal; SD: Standard deviation.