TABLE 2.
Laboratory characteristics in children with COVID‐19 and MIS‐C with and without elevated ALT
| COVID‐19 | MIS‐C | COVID‐19 vs MIS‐C a | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALT ≤ 40 U/L (n = 151) | ALT > 40 U/L (n = 69) | P‐value | ALT ≤ 40 U/L (n = 35) | ALT > 40 U/L (n = 36) | P‐value | P‐value | |
| Liver tests | |||||||
| Median (IQR) | |||||||
| ALT (U/L), peak | 19 (15‐25) | 98 (58‐197) | <0.001 | 23 (15‐31) | 77 (58‐117) | <0.001 | 0.16 |
| AST (U/L), peak | 31 (21‐43) | 78 (53‐137) | <0.001 | 30 (26‐34) | 88 (62‐124) | <0.001 | 0.84 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL), peak | 0.4 (0.2‐0.8) | 0.6 (0.4‐1.0) | 0.001 | 0.4 (0.3‐0.6) | 0.8 (0.6‐1.8) | <0.001 | 0.02 |
| Albumin (g/dL), nadir | 4.3 (3.7‐4.8) | 3.5 (2.9‐4.2) | <0.001 | 3.3 (2.5‐4.0) | 2.7 (2.3‐3.2) | 0.02 | <0.001 |
| Coagulation tests | |||||||
| Median (IQR) | |||||||
| INR, peak n = 127 | 1.2 (1.1‐1.3) | 1.2 (1.1‐1.3) | 0.51 | 1.2 (1.1‐1.4) | 1.3 (1.2‐1.4) | 0.23 | 0.01 |
| D Dimer (ug/mL), peak | 1.2 (0.5‐3.2) | 2.2 (0.9‐6.3) | 0.05 | 3.0 (1.5‐4.5) | 4.8 (3.2‐15.3) | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Complete blood count | |||||||
| Mean (±SD) | |||||||
| White blood cell count (103/mm3), peak | 11.0 (±6.5) | 14.3 (±14.5) | 0.02 | 16.4 (±9.7) | 21.1 (±13.8) | 0.11 | 0.02 |
| Acute lymphocytic count (cells/ mm3), nadir | 2,295 (±1,641) | 1,380 (±1,150) | <0.01 | 2,005 (±1967) | 1,382 (±1234) | 0.33 | 0.99 |
| Platelet count (103/mm3), peak | 250 (±129) | 210 (±120) | 0.03 | 235 (±136) | 134 (±96) | 0.001 | 0.01 |
| Inflammatory markers | |||||||
| Median (IQR) | |||||||
| CRP (mg/dL), peak | 1.4 (0.5‐5.7) | 13.6 (3.6‐23.4) | <0.001 | 14.0 (2.9‐25.2) | 19.0 (6.0‐30.0) | 0.07 | 0.06 |
| Ferritin (ng/mL), peak | 144 (71‐382) | 1208 (368 −2629) | <0.001 | 344 (171‐531) | 759 (508‐1641) | <0.001 | 0.69 |
| IL 6 (pg/mL), peak | 22.9 (7.3‐78.7) | 61.4 (9.0‐315.0) | 0.30 | 213.1 (31.0‐315.0) | 234.6 (86.6‐315.0) | 0.51 | 0.04 |
| LDH (U/L), peak | 287 (217‐386) | 464 (353‐738) | <0.001 | 315 (288‐409) | 370 (300‐482) | 0.07 | 0.19 |
| Other tests | |||||||
| Median (IQR) | |||||||
| CK (IU/L), peak | 138 (77‐226) | 223 (100‐662) | 0.12 | 120 (67‐168) | 280 (78‐983) | 0.18 | 0.93 |
Clinically relevant and significant values depicted.
Abbreviations: ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; CK, creatine kinase; CRP, c‐reactive protein; g/dL, gram per deciliter; ICU, intensive care unit; IL 6, interleukin 6; INR, international normalized ratio; IU/L, international units per liter; k/uL, kilo per microliter; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; mg/dl, milligram per deciliter; mg/L, milligrams per liter; mm3, cubic millimeter; ng/mL, nanogram per milliliter; pg/ml, picograms per milliliter; U/L, unit per liter; ug/mL, microgram per milliliter.
For additional variables, please see supplemental tables.
compares children with elevated ALT defined as ALT > 40 U/L in COVID‐19 vs MIS‐C.