LAUSR

We aimed to describe liver injury and identify the risk factors of liver injury in coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) patients without chronic liver diseases (CLD). The clinical data of 228 confirmed COVID‐19 patients without CLD were retrospectively collected from ten hospitals in Jiangsu, China. Sixty‐seven (29.4%) of 228 patients without CLD showed abnormal liver function on admission, including increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (25 [11.0%]) U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 30 [13.2%]) U/L, gamma‐glutamyl transferase (GGT) 28 [12.4%]) U/L, total bilirubin (Tbil) 16 [7.0%] μmol/L, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 10 [4.5%]) U/L. During hospitalization, 129 (56.3%) of 228 patients showed abnormal liver function, including elevated ALT (84 [36.8%]), AST (58 [25.4%]), GGT (67 [29.5%]), and Tbil (59 [25.9%]). Age over 50 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.086; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.030–4.225; p = .041), male sex (OR, 2.737; 95% CI, 1.418–5.284; p = .003), and lopinavir–ritonavir (OR, 2.504; 95% CI, 1.187–5.283; p = .016) were associated with higher risk of liver function abnormality, while the atomized inhalation of interferon α‐2b (OR, 0.256; 95% CI 0.126–0.520; p < .001) was associated with reduced risk of liver function abnormality during hospitalization. Mild to moderate liver injury was common in COVID‐19 patients in Jiangsu, China. Age over 50 years, male sex, and lopinavir–ritonavir were the independent risk factors of liver impairment in COVID‐19 patients during hospitalization.