Background: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) has been linked to more exacerbated inflammatory responses in various scenarios. The relationship between SLD and COVID-19 prognosis remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate the impact of SLD on the outcome of COVID-19.
Methods: Patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 and who underwent laboratory tests and chest CT scans were included. SLD was assessed by measuring the attenuation coefficient on CT scans. The relationship between SLD, the severity of COVID-19 clinical presentation and in-hospital mortality were assessed.
Results: A total of 610 patients were included (mean age 62 ± 16 years, 64% male). The prevalence of SLD was 30%, and the overall in-hospital mortality rate was 19%. Patients with SLD were younger (58 ± 13 vs. 64 ± 16 years,
p < 0.001) and had a higher BMI (32 ± 5 vs. 28 ± 4 kg/m
2,
p = 0.014). Admission AST values were higher in patients with SLD (82 ± 339 vs. 50 ± 37,
p = 0.02), while D-dimer (1112 ± 2147 vs. 1959 ± 8509,
p = 0.07), C-reactive protein (12 ± 9 vs. 11 ± 8,
p = 0.27), ALT (67 ± 163 vs. 47 ± 90,
p = 0.11), ALP (83 ± 52 vs. 102 ± 125,
p = 0.27), and GGT (123 ± 125 vs. 104 ± 146,
p = 0.61) did not significantly differ compared to patients without SLD. No difference was observed regarding lung parenchyma involvement >50% (20% vs. 17%,
p = 0.25), hospital length of stay (14 ± 19 vs. 16 ± 23 days,
p = 0.20), hemodialysis support (14% vs. 16%,
p = 0.57), use of mechanical ventilation (20% vs. 20%,
p = 0.96), and in-hospital mortality (17% vs. 20%,
p = 0.40) when comparing patients with and without SLD.
Conclusions: SLD showed no significant association with morbidity and mortality in patients with COVID-19.
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