Some patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have had increased levels of liver enzymes — like alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) — that indicate their livers are at least temporarily damaged. Also, liver damage is more common in patients who have severe COVID-19 disease. However, we do not know if this increase in liver enzyme levels is related directly to the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) being in the liver or if liver damage results from other factors.
More research is needed to determine if COVID-19 patients with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, fatty liver, and other chronic liver diseases are more likely to suffer from liver damage than COVID-19 patients without chronic liver disease.