Evaluation of Liver Function Tests (LFT) and C-reactive protein in COVID-19 (SARS Cov-2) positive patients diagnosed by Real-time PCR

  1. Fatima Khurshid
  2. Madiha , Mumtaz
  3. Sajjad Iqbal

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Abstract

Background/Aim: Unpredicted social and economic consequences have resulted from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic worldwide. Limited information is currently available addressing the COVID-19 infection impact on the RT-PCR Cycle threshold value trend, infection risk factors, impact on liver enzymes, etc. Methods: From November 2020 to March 2021, a cross-sectional study was carried out in the Chemical Pathology also Molecular Biology divisions of the Pathology Department of Shalamar Hospital, Lahore. Results: Males had a higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection than females about 51%. 36.5 percent of total infected people fell within the 20–40 age range. Significant factors that affect the severity of COVID-19 include age and underlying comorbidities. The majority of the patients (78.3%) reported fever, 50.4% had a cough, and 50.1% had myalgias. Low Ct value of RT-PCR may be asignificant predictor of illness severity and risk of mortality, with p values of 0.001 and 0.003, correspondingly. Disease severity was substantially associated with CRP, AST, ALT, and bilirubin indirect. It was observed that the Deritis ratio and CRP were highly associated with the risk of mortality. These markers can therefore be used to evaluate a patient's status as it progresses toward a severe disease, liver damage from treatment, and death risk. Conclusions: For doctors making patient management decisions, real-time PCR data and Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 may be useful. Age and comorbidities, among other risk variables, have been recognized as being associated with the likelihood of having a fatal illness. ALT, AST, Deritis ratio, and CRP are biochemical laboratory indicators that can be considered prognostic biomarkers for the development of severe disease and risk of mortality. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Liver, Cough, Pandemic

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  1. Version published to 10.53350/pjmhs20221612170
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    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.09.29.21264304: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsConsent: All patients provided informed consent.
    IRB: Ethical Approval: The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Board, Shalamar Medical and dental college (SMDC-IRB/AL/60/2020).
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 22.0 software.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Zinellu et al also reported elevated levels of CRP (P<0.05) in severe patients (23, 32, 33, 36) So, these parameters can be used as predictive factors for developing cytokine storm/ severe disease and mortality risk.(31) Limitations: This study was single centered with a small number of patients so, cannot be generalized over the entire population. History of contact, past and current infections, treatment, intubation, and length of hospital stay, must be included to have accurate and complete data on all the risk factors associated with disease and progression towards severe disease. The lack of universal SARS-CoV-2 testing makes it difficult to identify whether people are truly asymptomatic or uninfected.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.09.29.21264304v1 on medRxiv