Abstract
Most patients who had COVID-19 are still symptomatic after many months post infection, but the long-term outcomes are not yet well defined. The aim of our prospective/retrospective study was to define the cardiac sequelae of COVID-19 infection. This monocentric cohort study included 160 consecutive patients who had been discharged from the ward or from the outpatient clinic after a diagnosis of COVID-19 and subsequently referred for a follow-up visit. Clinical features’ data about the acute phase along with information about the follow-up visit, including ECG and Echocardiographic parameters, were recorded. At an average follow-up of 5 months, echocardiography showed morpho-functional characteristics of both right (RV) and left (LV) ventricles, such as RV dilation, increased pressure in the pulmonary circulation, and bi-ventricular systolic–diastolic dysfunction. When examined using multivariate analysis, independent of age, sex, and co-morbidities, RV and LV changes were significantly associated with chest High-Resolution computed tomography score and hemodynamic Instability (HI), and with C-reactive protein, respectively. Our results suggest that COVID-19 may impact RV and LV differently. Notably, the extent of the pneumonia and HI may affect RV, whereas the inflammatory status may influence LV. A long-term follow-up is warranted to refine and customize the most appropriate therapeutic strategies.
Highlights
In Italy, the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused over 35,000 deaths in the first wave of the outbreak that began in March 2020
Another study evaluated the prognostic significance of right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (RVLS) in a group of 120 consecutive patients undergoing bedside echocardiography during hospitalization and demonstrated that RVLS is a powerful predictor of higher mortality
We studied 160 consecutive patients who were referred for a follow-up visit at University-Hospital of Parma between May and November 2020 and who had the inclusion criteria reported in the Materials and Methods section
Summary
In Italy, the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused over 35,000 deaths in the first wave of the outbreak that began in March 2020. Another study evaluated the prognostic significance of RV longitudinal strain (RVLS) in a group of 120 consecutive patients undergoing bedside echocardiography during hospitalization (median time from admission to echo 7 days) and demonstrated that RVLS is a powerful predictor of higher mortality. These findings suggest that assessment of RV function should be implemented to identify patients at higher risk for poor outcomes [13]
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