CARDIOVASCULAR INVOLVEMENT AND MORTALITY WITH NEW COVID-19 VARIANTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47144/phj.v54i3.2084Abstract
Objectives: The presence of cardiac involvement is accepted as an indicator of morbidity and mortality in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Therefore, this study investigates data on cardiovascular involvement and clinical outcomes between the first wave with wild virus and mutation-dominant second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Methodology: This was a single centre, retrospective study using and the data was collected from confirmed COVID-19 patients. Patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics, cardiovascular involvement, and the factors associated with mortality were analysed. All these data were compared between first (wild virus) and second-wave (mutant viruses) patients.
Results: The study included 476 positive inpatients confirmed by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. Although the length of hospital stay was similar, the duration of intensive care units (ICUs) was longer in the second wave (6.3 ± 3.2 vs. 7.5 ± 3.5; p=0.020). The rate of severe illness (12.9 vs. 20.3%; p=0.037) and critical illness referral to ICUs (4.3 vs. 9.7%; p=0.031) was higher in the second wave than in the first. In addition, the incidence of myocardial damage was significantly higher in the second wave (4.3 vs. 10.7%; p=0.046).
Conclusion: In the present study, myocardial injury, development of critical illness, and referral to the ICUs increased in correlation with the disease severity in the second wave compared to the first. Variant viruses and possibly the burden of the crowd on healthcare contribute to this situation. Therefore, epidemiological data are required to guide situational awareness as long as the pandemic remains.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
When an article is accepted for publication in the print format, the author will be required to transfer exclusive copyright to the PHJ and retain the rights to use and share their published article with others. However, re-submission of the full article or any part for publication by a third party would require prior permission of the PHJ.
Online publication will allow the author to retain the copyright and share the article under the agreement described in the licensing rights with creative commons, with appropriate attribution to PHJ. Creative Commons attribution license CC BY 4.0 is applied to articles published in PHJ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/