key: cord-1046955-insl28wx
authors: Fumagalli, Carlo; Silverii, Maria Vittoria; Zocchi, Chiara; Tassetti, Luigi; Lavorini, Federico; Marcucci, Rossella; Rasero, Laura; Burgisser, Costanza; Fattirolli, Francesco; Marchionni, Niccolò
title: 782 Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients with COVID-19 at 3 months from hospital discharge
date: 2021-12-08
journal: Eur Heart J Suppl
DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/suab135.019
sha: aa7e48fdc4db8308343a33c7634b6edb1d3611ea
doc_id: 1046955
cord_uid: insl28wx

AIMS: The long-term COVID-19 effects are currently unknown. Whether and for how long symptoms extend beyond the acute phase of the disease is unresolved. Aim of this study was to determine the functional capacity of COVID-19 survivors by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and describe its association with dyspnoea, the most frequent symptom after discharge from a tertiary care hospital. METHODS AND RESULTS: All COVID-19 patients discharged from our tertiary care institution were enrolled in a prospective follow-up study which would assess clinical, instrumental and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 survivors at 3 months from hospital discharge (i.e. long-covid). To limit bias in dyspnoea quantification, patients hospitalized in residential care facilities with severe cognitive impairment/disability, ischaemic cardiopathy, and/or heart failure and severe respiratory disease (i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) were excluded. Clinical evaluation included: peripheral blood samples including inflammatory cytokines, pulmonary function testing (functional respiratory and 6 min-walking test), lung ultrasound, ECG recording, and a comprehensive echocardiographic exam. All patients with peripheral oxygen desaturation at 6 min-walking test (SpO(2) < 92%), dyspnoea and with a history of hospitalization in critical care settings were referred for CPET. Dyspnoea was classified with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. From June 2020 to May 2021, 198 patients were enrolled; overall, 42% of patients presented with dyspnoea at 3 months from hospital discharge with no difference according to disease severity on hospital admission (P = 0.233). Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic parameters were similar between patients with and without dyspnoea. At CPET, 61% of patients complaining dyspnoea showed a %peak VO(2) lower than 85% of the predicted value, associated with a lower exercising tolerance and duration and with a globally reduced equivalent metabolic load (METS: 5.3 ± 1.2 vs. 6.6 ± 1.6, P = 0.003). Mean anaerobic threshold was lower for symptomatic patients (46 + 13 vs. 50 + 10, P = 0.03). At multivariable logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age, number of comorbidities, and body mass index, only %peak VO(2) (HR: 0.973; 95% CI: 0.948–0.998) and male gender (HR: 0.548; 95% CI: 0.328–0.999) were associated with dyspnoea. CONCLUSIONS: At 3-months, almost 1-in-2 patients discharged for COVID-19 pneumonia presented with dyspnoea, irrespective of disease severity. Among patients undergoing CPET, only %peak VO(2) and gender were associated with symptoms suggesting a potential systemic inflammatory-mediated response and important gender related differences for the long-covid.

Aims: Myocarditis due to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is an uncommon side effect and the cases seem to have occurred predominantly in young adults under 30 years old. The estimated incidence is 12.6 cases per one million second dose m-RNA vaccine delivery. Methods and results: A 17-years-old male was admitted at our department after 18 days COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine second dose delivery with persistent chest pain without respiratory symptoms and, ST-elevation and PR-depression in V3-V6 at the ECG on 3 August 2021. He had no history of heart disease. Physical examination didn't show anything relevant except for mildly tachycardic heart sounds. In addition blood test showed increase in C-reactive protein, cardiac troponin and N-terminalpro-B-type natriuretic peptide. An echocardiography showed widespread hypokinesia with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and highly echogenic pericardium. During the first day cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was performed, which showed mild diffuse myocardial oedema on T2-weighted images and T2 mapping and two thin areas of delayed enhancement with non-ischaemic pattern in the lateral wall with involvement of the pericardial sheets confirming peri-myocarditis diagnosis. After 24 h, the ECG showed spread and deep T-waves with QTc prolongation. We performed multiple ECG during the days after to assess morphology changes and QTc. The patient has been asymptomatic for all the hospitalization and on day 7 was performed an echocardiography which describe a full recovery in terms of kinesia and left ventricular ejection fraction. He was discharged asymptomatic with 'better' but still negative T-waves and QTc normalization. Two months after discharge CMR was repeated and showed normal left ventricular function without myocardial oedema and pericardial involvement, but with persistent the areas of delayed enhancement with non-ischaemic pattern in the lateral wall. Conclusions: In this case report we describe an uncommon COVID-19 m-RNA Vaccine side effect. The first issue is the timing of presentation. On 19 July 2021, AIFA stated that myocarditis is a very uncommon side effect and it usually presents within 14 days after 2nd dose delivery. Our patient was admitted at our department after that time period, probably because we reported the ending part of the myocarditis presented with symptoms of pericarditis; indeed we didn't report the cardiac troponin plateau but only the descending cardiac troponin wave and we attend a very quick recovery. The second issue in the unique ECG with a very quick evolution (Tako-Tsubo morphology like) which could be characteristic of this kind of Myocarditis. Third, the good progress of the inflammation and quick recovery. Surely is a serious side effect but it's still less frequent and with better prognosis than COVID-19 Myocarditis. European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated authorized COVID-19 vaccines advantages are still above risks in all age groups beyond 12 y/o. Why is myocarditis a side effect, Why are adolescent males affected the most and Why is the onset after second dose of m-RNA vaccine are questions still unanswered. Aims We report the case of a hypertensive 70 year-old man, who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with fever, dry cough, malaise, dyspnoea. A nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 test was done, being positive.Methods and results Chest TC demonstrated ground glass bilateral pneumonia. Laboratory test showed WBC 10680/mmc, CRP 20 mg/l, TnT 0.03 ng/l, NTproBNP 147 ng/l. The liver and kidney function were within normal values. ECG was normal. He was treated with high flow oxygen (cPAP), enoxaparin, dexamethasone, doxycycline. After an initial improvement, dyspnoea got worse in 8th day, with the evidence of a new rise of inflammatory markers (PCR 95 mg/l, IL6 49 pg/ml) and the clinical new onset of cardiac rubbings on medical examination. The ECG revealed a sinus rhythm with T wave inversion everywhere. TnT remained normal. Echocardiography revealed a normal ventricular function, without segmentary alterations, absence of valvular disease. A mild pericardial effusion was evidenced, without signs of tamponade. We treated the patient with tocilizumab, after exclusion of other active infective foci. The clinical response was good, the patient was progressively weaned by oxygen and he was discharged asymptomatic. After 15 days, for ECG alterations persistence, despite no signs of ACS, a Coronary TC was done and a subcritical multivessel coronary artery disease was demonstrated: a subcritical IVA stenosis and a calcific MO.Conclusions In conclusion we report a successful treatment of COVID pneumonia likely complicated by acute pericarditis, and we observe that in these patients hypoxemia and cytochine storm possibly bring out silent vascular diseases, otherwise neglected. Aims: The long-term COVID-19 effects are currently unknown. Whether and for how long symptoms extend beyond the acute phase of the disease is unresolved. Aim of this study was to determine the functional capacity of COVID-19 survivors by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and describe its association with dyspnoea, the most frequent symptom after discharge from a tertiary care hospital. Methods and results: All COVID-19 patients discharged from our tertiary care institution were enrolled in a prospective follow-up study which would assess clinical, instrumental and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 survivors at 3 months from hospital discharge (i.e. long-covid). To limit bias in dyspnoea quantification, patients hospitalized in residential care facilities with severe cognitive impairment/disability, ischaemic cardiopathy, and/or heart failure and severe respiratory disease (i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) were excluded. Clinical evaluation included: peripheral blood samples including inflammatory cytokines, pulmonary function testing (functional respiratory and 6 min-walking test), lung ultrasound, ECG recording, and a comprehensive echocardiographic exam. All patients with peripheral oxygen desaturation at 6 min-walking test (SpO 2 < 92%), dyspnoea and with a history of hospitalization in critical care settings were referred for CPET. Dyspnoea was classified with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. From June 2020 to May 2021, 198 patients were enrolled; overall, 42% of patients presented with dyspnoea at 3 months from hospital discharge with no difference according to disease severity on hospital admission (P ¼ 0.233). Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic parameters were similar between patients with and without dyspnoea. At CPET, 61% of patients complaining dyspnoea showed a %peak VO 2 lower than 85% of the predicted value, associated with a lower exercising tolerance and duration and with a globally reduced equivalent metabolic load (METS: 5.3 6 1.2 vs. 6.6 6 1.6, P ¼ 0.003). Mean anaerobic threshold was lower for symptomatic patients (46 þ 13 vs. 50 þ 10, P ¼ 0.03). At multivariable logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age, number of comorbidities, and body mass index, only %peak VO 2 (HR: 0.973; 95% CI: 0.948-0.998) and male gender (HR: 0.548; 95% CI: 0.328-0.999) were associated with dyspnoea.

Aims: Pulmonary involvement in Coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19) may affect right ventricular (RV) function and pulmonary pressures resulting in further deterioration of patient clinical status. However, the prognostic value of echocardiographic parameters including tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PASP), and TAPSE/PASP ratio has been poorly investigated in this clinical setting. Methods and results: This is a multicentre Italian study including patients admitted for severe COVID-19 in seven Italian Hospitals. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed within 48 h from admission in all cases. In-hospital mortality and pulmonary embolism (PE) were identified as the primary and secondary outcome measures, respectively. Of 1401 patients with severe COVID-19, 227 (16.1%) subjects underwent TTE within 48 h from admission and were included in this study. The mean age was 68 6 13 years and 62.6% of patients were male. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission was reported in 73 patients (32.2%); ICU patients showed lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), lower TAPSE, and higher LV end systolic volume and PASP values than non-ICU patients. Also, ICU patients showed higher incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (82.2% vs. 30.5%; P < 0.001), acute cardiac injury (46.6% vs. 22.7%; P < 0.001), acute heart failure (34.2% vs. 9.1%; P < 0.001), and death (63.9% vs. 14.3%; P < 0.001) compared with non-ICU patients. By stratifying the study population into tertiles according to TAPSE, PASP, and TAPSE/PASP values, patients in the lower TAPSE and TAPSE/PASP ratio tertiles, and those in the higher PASP tertile, showed a significantly higher incidence of death during the hospitalization. At univariable logistic regression analysis, TAPSE, PASP, and TAPSE/PASP were significantly associated with a higher risk of death and PE, both in patients admitted or not to ICU. After propensity score weighting adjustment for multiple baseline potential confounders and further multivariable adjustment for LVEF value, the regression analysis showed that TAPSE, PASP and TAPSE/PASP were independently associated with risk of death (TAPSE: OR: 0.85, CI: 0.74-0.97, P ¼ 0.017; PASP: OR: 1.08, CI: 1.03-1.13, P ¼ 0.002; TAPSE/PASP: OR: 0.02, CI: 0.02 Â 10 À1 -0.20, P < 0.001) and with the risk of PE (TAPSE: OR: 0.70, CI: 0.60-0.82, P < 0.001; PASP: OR: 1.10, CI: 1.05-1.14, P < 0.001; TAPSE/PASP: OR: 0.02 Â 10 À1 , CI: 0.01 Â 10 À2 -0.04, P < 0.001) during the hospitalization. The risk death according to TAPSE, PASP, and TAPSE/PASP ratio tertiles was estimated considering discharge alive as competing risk (Figure) . The lowest TAPSE and TAPSE/PASP tertiles, and the highest PASP tertile, were significantly associated with poorer survival during the hosptialization (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Echocardiographic evidence of RV systolic dysfunction, increased PASP and a poor RV-arterial coupling assessed by TAPSE/PAPS ratio may help to identify COVID-19 patients at higher risk of mortality and PE during the hospitalization.

618 Clinical conditions and echocariographic parameters associated with mortality in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently recognized viral infective disease which can be complicated by acute respiratory stress syndrome (ARDS) and cardiovascular complications including severe arrhythmias, acute coronary syndromes, myocarditis, and pulmonary embolism. The aim of the present study was to identify the clinical conditions and echocardiographic parameters associated with inhospital mortality in COVID-19. Methods and results: This is a multicentre retrospective observational study including seven Italian centres

At multivariable analysis, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, P < 0.001), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE, P < 0.001), and ARDS (P < 0.001) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. At competing risk analysis, we found a significantly higher risk of mortality in patients with ARDS vs. those without ARDS (HR: 7.66; CI: 3.95-14.8), in patients with TAPSE 17 mm vs