ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hypoxia is a common complication seen in people with COVID-19 and can often be the presenting symptom. METHODS: Using a multi-centre observational database, we analysed 3,624 hospitalised COVID-19 PCR-positive patients at Methodist Health System, Dallas, Texas, USA from March 2020 to December 2020. We compared in-hospital death or hospice referral rates and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) between patients with four levels of oxygen (O2) requirements (0-1 L/min, 2-10 L/min, 11-20 L/min, 21-100 L/min). MACE included congestive heart failure (CHF) exacerbations, myocardial infarctions (MI), strokes, pulmonary embolism (PE) / deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and shock. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine comorbidities and demographics associated with mortality. Multinomial regression analysis was used to find which of these variables were associated with hypoxia. RESULTS: Patients who arrived needing 0-1 L/min of O2 had reduced risk of mortality compared to those requiring 2-10 L/min (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.207-1.976, p<0.0001), 11-20 L/min (OR=4.55, 95% CI=3.169-6.547, p<0.0001), or 21-100 L/min (OR=12.06, 95% CI=8.548-17.016, p<0.0001). In addition, patients who arrived needing 0-1 L/min of O2 showed reduced risk of MACE compared to those requiring 2-10 L/min (OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.029-1.409, p<0.0001), 11-20 L/min (OR=2.76, 95% CI 2.06-3.696, p<0.0001), or 21-100 L/min (OR=6.74, 95% CI 4.966-9.155, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Hypoxia on arrival is associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality and MACE among hospitalised patients with COVID-19. This data will promote better prognostication and help reduce negative outcomes in an inpatient setting.
ABSTRACT
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. However, little is known about the combined effect of coronary artery disease (CAD) and COVID-19 on mortality. We aimed to investigate the incidence of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in COVID-19 patients with CAD. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study identified 3,336 COVID-19 patients admitted between March and December 2020. Data points were manually reviewed in the patients' electronic health records. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess whether CAD and its subtypes were associated with mortality. Results: This study shows that CAD was not an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (odds ratio (OR): 1.512, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1529 - 14.95, P = 0.723). However, there was a significant increase in cardiovascular mortality in patients with CAD compared to those without (OR: 6.89, 95% CI: 2.706 - 17.53, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality in patients with left main artery and left anterior descending artery disease (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 0.80 - 2.08, P = 0.29). However, CAD patients with a history of interventions (e.g., coronary stenting or coronary artery bypass graft) showed increased mortality compared to those solely treated by medical management (OR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.12 - 3.33, P = 0.017). Conclusions: CAD is associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular mortality but not all-cause mortality in COVID-19 patients. Overall, this study will help clinicians identify characteristics of COVID-19 patients with increased risk of mortality in the setting of CAD.
ABSTRACT
Despite increased use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) during peripheral artery interventions, evidence for reproducibility of IVUS measurements and its relation to angiography is lacking. Forty cross-sectional IVUS images of the femoropopliteal artery from 20 randomly selected patients enrolled in the XLPAD (Excellence in Peripheral Artery Disease) registry who underwent peripheral artery interventions and met criteria based on IVUS consensus guidelines were independently assessed by 2 blinded readers. IVUS images from 6 patients (40 images) were selected for angiographic correlation and met criteria for identifiable landmarks (e.g., stent edge and bifurcation). Lumen cross-sectional area (CSA), external elastic membrane (EEM) CSA, luminal diameter, and reference vessel diameter were repeatedly measured. The Lumen CSA and EEM CSA intra-observer agreement by Spearman rank-order correlation (ρ) was >0.993, intraclass correlation coefficient was >0.997, and repeatability coefficient was <1.34. For the interobserver measurement of luminal CSA and EEM CSA, the ρ = 0.742 and 0.764; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.888 and 0.885; and repeatability coefficient = 7.24 and 11.34, respectively. A Bland-Altman plot for lumen and EEM CSA showed good reproducibility. For angiographic comparison, the ρ for luminal diameter, luminal area, and vessel area were 0.419, 0.414, and 0.649, respectively. Femoropopliteal IVUS measurements showed strong intra-observer and interobserver agreement; IVUS and angiographic measurements did not demonstrate a similar strong agreement.