ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION SEVERITY INFLUENCE ON COVID19 SEVERITY AND ICU ADMISSION

Abstract

Objective: Our aim was to assess whether COVID19 positive hypertensive patients were more likely to develop severe symptoms resulting in ICU management and mechanical ventilation. Design and method: We performed a retrospective study on consecutive patients hospitalised for COVID19 admitted to our department between 1st of September and 1st of December 2021. Collected data included medical history, treatment, echocardiographic data and lab test results. SPSS version 23 was used for descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: A total of 139 COVID19 patients were included in the study with a median age of 68 years (range: 18–91), 51.1% males. Up to 85.2% of patients were either unvaccinated or had incomplete vaccination courses. Of the lot, 64.7% of patients had known arterial hypertension (HTN) - up to 25.9% of patients had grade 3 HTN. Hypertensive patients were generally older (68 vs 62 y, p < 0.001) and with a female predominance (77.9% of women vs. 52.1% of men, p = 0.001). About a third of patients (32.4%) required ICU management. The number of patients requiring ICU treatment (32.2% vs. 32.7%, p = 0.552) or mechanical ventilation (33.3% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.352) were similar irrespective of HTN diagnosis. However, grade 3 HTN patients had a higher relative risk of developing severe COVID19 (RR: 2.021 | 1.49 - 2.71). Conclusions: Many of the patients hospitalised for COVID19 in our department were either unvaccinated or had incomplete vaccination courses. Arterial hypertension is the most common finding among patients hospitalised for COVID19 and up to a third of patients had severe hypertension. A third of all patients required ICU management and grade 3 HTN was more likely to be associated with severe COVID19 and respiratory failure.