Abstract
Background: Although remdesivir treatment is widely used during the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is scarce evidence regarding its cardiac side effects. Case presentation: We report the case of a 36-year-old male hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 symptoms. He presented with a 10-day history of fever (up to 39.7 °C), productive cough, hemoptysis, fatigue, myalgias and hypoxemia. The patient received supplemental oxygen, dexamethasone, remdesivir and empirical antibiotic treatment according to protocol. Asymptomatic sinus bradycardia developed on hospital day 3 (namely, heart rate 39/min compared to 92/min on admission). Secondary causes of bradycardia were excluded based on the absence of relevant evidence from laboratory work-up and echocardiographic examination. The patient’s rhythm restored to normal 9 days after the discontinuation of remdesivir. Conclusions: Considering the frequent use of remdesivir in patients with COVID-19, physicians should be aware of this possible adverse event.
Highlights
At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, in theHubei Province of China and declared a pandemic in February 2020 [1]
An antiviral drug with in-vitro inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2, has been proposed for the treatment of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and widely used during the pandemic COVID-19 [2,3], there is scarce evidence regarding its cardiac side effects [2,4,5,6]
A 36-year-old male presented with a 10-day history of fever up to 39.7 ◦ C, productive cough with hemoptysis, fatigue and myalgias
Summary
At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, in the. Hubei Province of China and declared a pandemic in February 2020 [1]. 2021, a total of 92.3 million coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and 1.98 million deaths have been confirmed worldwide [1]. An antiviral drug with in-vitro inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2, has been proposed for the treatment of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and widely used during the pandemic COVID-19 [2,3], there is scarce evidence regarding its cardiac side effects [2,4,5,6]
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