Liver function characteristics of COVID-19 patients with obesity at Dr. Soetomo Hospital: case series

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with obesity are more susceptible to liver injury. There is currently no published overview regarding COVID-19 patients with liver injury in Indonesia. Our study reported 7 cases of obese COVID-19 patients with an increase of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), followed by 5 of them developing severe symptoms of COVID-19 in isolation room of Dr. Soetomo Hospital Surabaya within June-December 2020. Case Presentation: A total of 7 COVID-19 patients, by the average age 46.2±15.5 years, were obese. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 36,3±3,4 kg/m2. Five of them experienced serious symptoms. There were 3 patients (patient no. 2, 4, 7) who had normal SGOT level, while the rest had an increased SGOT level for <2x upper limit of normal (ULN) at admission. During treatment, SGOT level increased in 5 patients for 1-<3x ULN and normal in the rest of them (patient no. 2, 4). Meanwhile, the normal SGPT levels were shown in 3 patients (patient no. 2, 4, 7) and increased in 4 others at admission for 1-<4x ULN. All of them tended to have an increased SGPT level during treatment for 1-<5x ULN. However, since the increase of SGOT and/or SGPT for >3x ULN is defined as liver injury, it happened in 2 patients that occur since admission (patient no. 3) and during treatment (patient no. 5). Conclusion: Obesity may impede the recovery of COVID-19 and manifest in the deterioration of liver function.