LAUSR

In patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia, shear wave elasticity (SWE) was used to assess liver stiffness. This study included 48 cases of COVID-19-induced pneumonia and 48 cases of normal physical examination. Basic and clinical data, including aspartate aminotransferase, were evaluated (AST). Color ultrasonography was used to test the liver's shear wave elasticity. A biopsy of the liver was also performed. In patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia, AST and ALT levels were higher than in the control group. Liver SWE showed that liver stiffness is hard (8.745±0.2104) compared with control group (7.386±0.1521)(P<0.0001). Pathological biopsy showed that liver inflammation accounted for 89.58%, steatosis accounted for 81.25%, necrosis accounted for 10.42%, and fibrosis accounted for 33.33% in patients with COVID-19 induced pneumonia. ROC curve analysis showed that the SWE is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of liver inflammation and steatosis. The sensitivity was 88.76%, and the specificity was 77.01% for the evaluation of liver inflammation. For steatosis, the sensitivity was 90.20%, and the specificity was 78.40%. The SWE of liver is useful to assess liver function and pathological status in COVID-19 patients.