TABLE 1.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of the COVID‐19 cohort
| Characteristics |
Overall (n = 34) |
No Cholestasis Group 0 (n = 14; 41%) |
Cholestasis Group 1 (n = 11; 32%) |
Cholestasis Group 2 (n = 9; 27%) |
p‐value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 60 [55‐69] | 63 [55‐70] | 59 [52‐70] | 59 [53‐68] | .809 |
| Male sex | 29 (85) | 13 (93) | 9 (82) | 7 (78) | .563 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28.0 [25.1‐34.3] | 29.0 [25.5‐33.5] | 28.0 [26.0‐35.9] | 27.0 [24.4‐34.5] | .653 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (44) | 7 (50) | 1 (9) | 7 (78) | .007 |
| Arterial hypertension | 23 (68) | 8 (57) | 8 (73) | 7 (78) | .650 |
| Adipositas | 12 (35) | 7 (50) | 4 (36) | 1 (11) | .162 |
| Chronic liver disease | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.000 |
| Chronic lung disease | 6 (18) | 3 (21) | 3 (27) | 0 (0) | .278 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 7 (21) | 3 (21) | 3 (27) | 1 (11) | .766 |
| Immunosuppressiona | 6 (18) | 1 (7) | 4 (36) | 1 (11) | .166 |
| Severity Scores | |||||
| SOFA (ICU admission) | 8 [3‐10] | 4.5 [2.0‐8.25] | 10 [7‐11] | 8 [6‐13.5] | .021 |
| SAPS II | 33 [24‐50] | 25 [22‐35] | 42 [26‐59] | 44.0 [26‐60] | .035 |
| LFT at admission | |||||
| AST, × ULN | 0.9 [0.8‐1.4] | 0.9 [0.6‐1.1] | 1.9 [0.9‐2.1] | 0.9 [0.7‐1.0] | .012 |
| ALT, × ULN | 0.8 [0.5‐1.2] | 0.6 [0.5‐1.0] | 1.1 [0.9‐2.1] | 0.6 [0.5‐0.9] | .102 |
| GGT, × ULN | 1.2 [0.6‐1.5] | 0.9 [0.6‐1.6] | 1.3 [1.0‐2.0] | 1.2 [0.6‐1.5] | .402 |
| ALP, × ULN | 0.6 [0.4‐0.7] | 0.5 [0.4‐0.7] | 0.7 [0.4‐0.7] | 0.4 [0.4‐0.7] | .235 |
| Total bilirubin, × ULN | 0.4 [0.3‐0.6] | 0.5 [0.2‐0.6] | 0.5 [0.2‐0.6] | 0.3 [0.3‐0.4] | .392 |
| INR | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | .181 |
| Peak LFT | |||||
| AST, × ULN | 4.0 [2.5‐11.0] | 2.8 [1.5‐3.6] | 4.1 [2.5‐16] | 13.4 [8.3‐100.5] | <.001 |
| ALT, × ULN | 3.7 [2.3‐8.1] | 2.4 [2.0‐3.6] | 5.5 [1.7‐8.1] | 12.4 [7.3‐55.6] | .001 |
| GGT, × ULN | 7.9 [4.9‐26.5] | 4.5 [2.0‐6.5] | 9.4 [6.0‐14.5] | 36.9 [26.6‐54.9] | <.001 |
| ALP, × ULN | 1.8 [1.0‐3.5] | 0.9 [0.5‐1.0] | 2.1 [1.8‐2.9] | 9.1 [3.8‐18.1] | <.001 |
| Total bilirubin, × ULN | 1.0 [0.5‐2.6] | 0.5 [0.4‐0.8] | 1.0 [0.6‐1.6] | 8.0 [3.5‐13.5] | <.001 |
| INR | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.1 [1‐2.2] | .378 |
| LFT at discharge / death | |||||
| AST, × ULN | 0.9 [0.6‐2.1] | 0.7 [0.5‐0.9] | 1.0 [0.9‐1.6] | 2.5 [0.7‐3.7] | .032 |
| ALT, × ULN | 1.2 [0.8‐2.3] | 1.0 [0.7‐1.6] | 1.2 [0.8‐3.2] | 2.0 [1.0‐2.8] | .302 |
| GGT, × ULN | 4.8 [2.2‐11.2] | 1.7 [1.2‐3.7] | 5.5 [3.0‐10.0] | 11.9 [5.4‐30.4] | .001 |
| ALP, × ULN | 1.4 [0.9‐3.4] | 0.7 [0.4‐0.9] | 1.7 [1.2‐2.0] | 5.4 [2.5‐7.4] | <.001 |
| Total bilirubin, × ULN | 0.4 [0.2‐1.6] | 0.3 [0.2‐0.4] | 0.3 [0.1‐1.2] | 6.0 [0.4‐9.5] | .012 |
| INR | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | 1.0 [1.0‐1.0] | .734 |
| Treatments at ICU | |||||
| Vasopressors | 27 (79) | 8 (57) | 11 (100) | 8 (89) | .018 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 31 (91) | 11 (79) | 11 (100) | 9 (100) | .102 |
| Proning | 23 (68) | 6 (43) | 8 (73) | 9 (100) | .012 |
| Nitric Oxide | 5 (15) | 0 (0) | 1 (9) | 4 (44) | .007 |
| ECMO | 7 (21) | 0 (0) | 3 (27) | 4 (44) | .028 |
| RRT | 15 (44) | 2 (14) | 7 (64) | 6 (55) | .013 |
| Parenteral nutrition | 5 (14) | 0 (0) | 2 (18) | 3 (27) | .065 |
| Outcomes | |||||
| Nosocomial Infection | 18 (53) | 6 (43) | 6 (55) | 6 (67) | .516 |
| Bacteraemia | 9 (27) | 1 (7) | 3 (27) | 5 (56) | .045 |
| Sepsis | 10 (29) | 3 (21) | 3 (27) | 4 (44) | .565 |
| Septic shock | 12 (35) | 2 (14) | 6 (55) | 4 (44) | .128 |
| AKI | 18 (53) | 4 (29) | 8 (73) | 6 (67) | .059 |
| ARDS | 28 (82) | 9 (64) | 10 (91) | 9 (100) | .080 |
| ICU days | 17 [8‐36] | 9.5 [3.8‐18.3] | 16 [8‐30] | 51 [25‐86.5] | .002 |
| Overall Mortality | 10 (29) | 1 (7) | 4 (36) | 5 (56) | .043 |
| COVID‐19‐specific medication | |||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 21 (62) | 6 (43) | 9 (82) | 3 (75) | .065 |
| Remdesivir | 6 (18) | 2 (14) | 2 (18) | 1 (11) | 1.000 |
| Lopinavir/Ritonavir | 5 (15) | 1 (7) | 2 (18) | 2 (22) | .579 |
| Tocilizumab | 1 (3) | 1 (7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.000 |
Abbreviation: AKI, acute kidney injury; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; BMI, body mass index; GGT; gamma‐glutamyl transferase; ICU, intensive care unit; INR, international normalized ratio; LFT, liver function tests; RRT, renal replacement therapy; SAPS II Score, Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SOFA Score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score; ULN, upper limit of normal. †Immunosuppression was defined as any of the following: haematological malignancy, human immunodeficiency virus or prescribed immunosuppressive medication.
Continuous variables are expressed as median and interquartile range [IQR]. Categorical variables are expressed as n (%). Statistical Analysis: Kruskal‐Wallis and Fisher's exact test as appropriate.