Baseline NT-proBNP levels as a predictor of short-and long-term prognosis in COVID-19 patients: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Up to 20% of COVID-19 patients can suffer COVID-19-related myocardial injury. Elevated cardiac biomarkers, such as hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP, have been related to worse short-term prognosis. However, data on NT-proBNP and long-term prognosis are scarce. We have evaluated the potential association of baseline age-adjusted NT-proBNP levels and outcomes at one-year follow-up in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This was a single-center prospective study of 499 COVID-19 patients in whom NT-proBNP was assessed at hospital admission. NT-proBNP levels were age-adjusted and patients were classified as high or low NT-proBNP. Clinical and demographic characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory results, and in-hospital complications and mortality were compared between the two groups. Survivors of the acute phase of COVID-19 were followed up for one year from admission to detect readmissions and mortality. RESULTS: The 68 patients with high NT-proBNP levels at hospital admission were older, with more cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease, comorbidities, myocardial injury, and higher levels of inflammatory markers than patients with low NT-proBNP levels. They also had more in-hospital complications and a higher acute-phase mortality rate (60.3% vs. 10.2%, p < 0.001). High NT-proBNP levels were an independent marker of death during hospitalization (HR 1.95; CI 1.07-3.52). At one-year follow-up, high NT-proBNP levels were independently associated with mortality (HR 2.69; CI 1.47-4.89). Among survivors of the acute phase of COVID-19, there were no differences in hospital readmissions between those with high vs. low NT-proBNP levels, but survivors with high baseline NT-proBNP levels showed a higher 1-year mortality rate (7.4% vs. 1.3%, p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: High age-adjusted NT-proBNP levels at the time of hospital admission for COVID-19 are associated with poor short and long-term prognosis. High NT-proBNP seems also to be related to worse prognosis in survivors of the acute phase of COVID-19. A closer follow-up on these patients may be crucial.

Myocardial Injury as a Prognostic Factor in Mid- and Long-Term Follow-Up of COVID-19 Survivors.

Myocardial injury, which is present in >20% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, is associated with increased short-term mortality, but little is known about its mid- and long-term consequences. We evaluated the association between myocardial injury with one-year mortality and readmission in 172 COVID-19 patients discharged alive. Patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of myocardial injury (defined by hs-cTn levels) on admission and matched by age and sex. We report mortality and hospital readmission at one year after admission in all patients and echocardiographic, laboratory and clinical data at six months in a subset of 86 patients. Patients with myocardial injury had a higher prevalence of hypertension (73.3% vs. 50.0%, p = 0.003), chronic kidney disease (10.5% vs. 2.35%, p = 0.06) and chronic heart failure (9.3% vs. 1.16%, p = 0.03) on admission. They also had higher mortality or hospital readmissions at one year (11.6% vs. 1.16%, p = 0.01). Additionally, echocardiograms showed thicker walls in these patients (10 mm vs. 8 mm, p = 0.002) but without functional disorder. Myocardial injury in COVID-19 survivors is associated with poor clinical prognosis at one year, independent of age and sex, but not with echocardiographic functional abnormalities at six months.

Impact of pre-angioplasty antithrombotic therapy administration on coronary reperfusion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Does time matter?

BACKGROUND: Optimal timing of antithrombotic therapy for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is unclear. We analyzed the impact of pre-angioplasty administration of unfractionated heparin (UFH) on infarct-related artery (IRA) patency and mortality. METHOD: Multicenter prospective observational study of 3520 STEMI patients treated with PPCI from 2016 to 2018. Subjects were divided into four groups according to the elapsed time from heparin administration to PPCI: Group 1: Upon arrival at catheterization laboratory or ≤ 30 min (n = 800; 22.7%); Group 2: 31 to 60 min (n = 994; 28.2%); Group 3: 61 to 90 min (n = 1091; 31%); Group 4: >90 min (n = 635; 18%). IRA patency was defined as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade 2-3. Multivariate analyses assessed factors associated with IRA patency and both 30-day and 1-year mortality. RESULTS: UFH administration at STEMI diagnosis was an independent predictor of IRA patency especially when administered more than 60 min before the PPCI (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.14-1.81), either an independent predictor of 30-day (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.42-0.94) and 1-year (HR 0.57; 95% CI 0.41-0.80) mortality. The effect of UFH on IRA patency was higher when administered earlier from the symptom onset. CONCLUSION: UFH administration at STEMI diagnosis improves coronary reperfusion prior to PPCI and this benefit seems associated with superior clinical outcomes. The presented results highlight a time-dependent effectiveness of UFH, since its reported effect is greater the sooner UFH is administered after symptom onset.

Time-dependent effects of unfractionated heparin in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction transferred for primary angioplasty.

AIMS: Initial thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow and mortality are related in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with primary angioplasty (PPCI). It is unclear whether early adjunctive treatment with unfractionated heparin (UFH) is beneficial for coronary patency. We investigated the effect of UFH administered before transfer versus in the catheterization laboratory (CathLab) on initial patency of the infarct related artery (IRA) in transferred STEMI patients treated with PPCI. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive STEMI patients (n=1326, February 2007-December 2013) were allocated in two groups relative to UFH administration: pre-transfer group - administration by ambulance crew or physician-in-charge at the non-PPCI centre, 758 patients (57%); post-transfer group - administration in the CathLab, 568 patients (43%). The time range between symptom onset (SO) and UFH administration (SO-UFH) was assessed and the 1-year mortality prediction was analysed by logistic regression. Initial IRA TIMI 2-3 flow was 30.3% in pre-transfer group vs. 21.2% in post-transfer group (p<0.001). A time-dependent association was found between SO-UFH and initial TIMI 2-3 in pre- vs. post-transfer groups [<120 min: 33.2% vs. 18%, p<0.001; 120-240 min: 29.2% vs. 22.8%, p=0.18; >240 min: 25% vs. 28%, p=0.57]. No differences in major bleeding were found between groups. UFH administration before transfer remained an independent predictor for initial TIMI 2-3 flow (OR 1.60 CI 95% 1.22-2.11, p=0.01) and for 1-year mortality (OR 0.51 CI 95% 0.29-0.91, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Early UFH administration in STEMI patients transferred for PPCI results in higher IRA initial patency in a time-dependent manner and improves clinical outcomes.