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- Title
Liver abnormalities following SARS-CoV-2 infection in children 1 to 10 years of age.
- Authors
Terebuh, Pauline; Olaker, Veronica R.; Kendall, Ellen K.; Kaelber, David C.; Rong Xu; Davis, Pamela B.
- Abstract
Objective: Beginning in October 2021 in the USA and elsewhere, cases of severe paediatric hepatitis of unknown aetiology were identified in young children. While the adenovirus and adenovirus-associated virus have emerged as leading aetiological suspects, we attempted to investigate a potential role for SARS-CoV- 2 in the development of subsequent liver abnormalities. Design: We conducted a study using retrospective cohorts of deidentified, aggregated data from the electronic health records of over 100 million patients contributed by US healthcare organisations. Results: Compared with propensity score matched children with other respiratory infections, children aged 1-10 years with COVID-19 had a higher risk of elevated transaminases (HR (95% CI) 2.16 (1.74 to 2.69)) or total bilirubin (HR (95% CI) 3.02 (1.91 to 4.78)), or new diagnoses of liver diseases (HR (95% CI) 1.67 (1.21 to 2.30)) from 1 to 6 months after infection. Patients with pre-existing liver abnormalities, liver abnormalities surrounding acute infection, younger age (1-4 years) or illness requiring hospitalisation all had similarly elevated risk. Children who developed liver abnormalities following COVID-19 had more pre-existing conditions than those who developed abnormalities following other infections. Conclusion: These results indicate that SARS-CoV- 2 may prime the patient for subsequent development of liver infections or non-infectious liver diseases. While rare (~1 in 1000), SARS-CoV- 2 is a risk for subsequent abnormalities in liver function or the diagnosis of diseases of the liver.
- Subjects
LIVER disease diagnosis; RESPIRATORY infections in children; LIVER; ELECTRONIC health records; PROPENSITY score matching
- Publication
Family Medicine & Community Health, 2024, Vol 12, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2305-6983
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1136/fmch-2023-002655