Table 5.
Clinical and biochemical characteristics of the cirrhotic patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (n = 48) and with bacterial infection (n = 47).
| Characteristics | Cirrhotic patients SARS-CoV-2 positive (n = 48) | Cirrhotic patients SARS-CoV-2 negative (n = 47) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 67 (61–73) | 59 (50–65) | 0.0009 |
| Males | 33 (69) | 35 (74) | 0.54 |
| Liver disease aetiology: | 0.07 | ||
| HCV∗ | 14 (29) | 7 (15) | |
| HBV∗ | 4 (8) | 0 | |
| Alcohol | 12 (25) | 18 (38) | |
| Other aetiologies∗∗ | 5 (10) | 13 (28) | |
| Multiple aetiologies | 10 (21) | 9 (19) | |
| HCC∗∗∗ | 13 (27) | 11 (23) | 0.68 |
| Enlisted for LT | 7 (15) | 7 (15) | 0.93 |
| Comorbidities: | |||
| Diabetes | 18 (38) | 11 (23) | 0.16 |
| Obesity | 8 (17) | 7 (15) | 0.87 |
| Arterial hypertension | 29 (60) | 14 (30) | 0.003 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 8 (17) | 4 (9) | 0.15 |
| COPD | 8 (17) | 5 (11) | 0.41 |
| Blood tests: | |||
| Lactate dehydrogenase, U/L∗ | 325 (267–432) | 233 (172–283) | 0.005 |
| CRP, mg/dl | 4.7 (2.3–15.9) | 4.75 (2.9–8.3) | 0.70 |
| Bilirubin, mg/dl | 1.9 (0.8–3.8) | 5.6 (1.8–14.4) | 0.09 |
| Albumin, g/dl | 2.8 (2.6–3.2) | 2.9 (2.6–3.2) | 0.97 |
| INR | 1.30 (1.12–1.70) | 1.54 (1.31–1.85) | 0.34 |
| PLT ×103/mm3 | 112 (63–171) | 77 (42–175) | 0.45 |
| WBC ×103/mm3 | 5,73 (4.25–8.65) | 8.31 (5.65–12.92) | 0.01 |
| ALT, U/L | 54 (24–88) | 44 (29–84) | 0.87 |
| Creatinine, mg/dl | 1.1 (0.80–1.62) | 1.0 (0.7–1.4) | 0.77 |
| Ascites | 18 (38) | 29 (62) | 0.014 |
| Encephalopathy | 19 (40) | 24 (51) | 0.23 |
| Child-Pugh score: | |||
| A (5-6) | 18 (38) | 4 (9) | 0.004 |
| B (7-9) | 14 (29) | 20 (42) | |
| C (10-15) | 16 (33) | 23 (49) | |
| MELD score: | |||
| Median | 9 (6–16) | 19 (14–25) | <0.0001 |
| ≥15 | 13 (27) | 32 (68) | <0.0001 |
| Grades of ACLF#: | |||
| No ACLF | 34 (71) | 30 (64) | 0.77 |
| ACLF Ia | 3 (6) | 2 (4) | |
| ACLF Ib | 5 (10.5) | 7 (15) | |
| ACLF II | 5 (10.5) | 5 (11) | |
| ACLF III | 1 (2) | 3 (6) | |
| CLIF-OF score | 7 (4–9) | 7 (4–9) | 0.92 |
| CLIF-C ACLF score | 64 (61–67) | 61 (57–66) | 0.27 |
Values are reported as n (%) or median (IQR). Categorical variables have been compared using the χ2 test, continuous variables have been compared using the Student's t test, all tests were 2-sided and used a significance level of 0.05.
ACLF, acute-on-chronic liver failure; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; CLIF, European Foundation for the study of chronic liver failure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; CRP, C reactive protein; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; INR, international normalized ratio; LT, liver transplant; MELD, model end-stage liver disease; NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; OF, organ failure; PLT, platelets; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2.
All patients with HCV achieved an sustained virological response and all patients with HBV were on effective nucleotide analogue therapy; ∗∗11 autoimmune hepatitis and 8 NASH in the SARS-CoV-2 negative cohort; ∗∗∗active or past; #according to the EASL-CLIF classification and grades of ACLF.