LAUSR

OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine whether SARS-CoV-2/HBV coinfection affects liver function and the outcome of the disease. METHODS One hundred fifty six laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive patients were followed up between July 01 and December 31 2020 and analyzed retrospectively. Continuous variables were compared with the Independent Samples t-test. Categorical variables were compared using the Pearson's chi-square or Fisher's exact test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS The age range of the cohort was from 40 to 78 and 73 (46.8%) of 156 patients were male. There was no significant difference in age and gender distribution between 20 patients (12.8%) with SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infection and 136 patients without HBV infection (87.2%) (p > 0.05). Liver function tests were higher in the SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infected patient group, but were not statistically significant. The levels of creatine kinase (CK) were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients without HBV infection compared to the SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infected patient group (p = 0.0047). Severe/critical illness was less common in the SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infected patient group and no deaths were observed. CONCLUSIONS SARS-CoV-2/HBV coinfection did not change the severity and outcome of COVID-19. However, the patients with SARS-CoV-2/HBV co-infection should be closely monitored for liver complications.