COVID-19 and arrhythmia: An overview.

Arrhythmias in COVID-19 patients are associated with hypoxia, myocardial ischemia, cytokines, inflammation, electrolyte abnormalities, pro-arrhythmic or QT-prolonging medications, and underlying heart conditions such as severe congestive heart failure, inherited arrhythmia syndromes, or congenital heart conditions. In the pediatric population, multisystem inflammatory syndrome can lead to cardiac injury and arrhythmias. In addition, arrhythmias and cardiac arrests are most prevalent in the critically ill intensive care unit COVID-19 patient population. This review presents an overview of the association between COVID-19 and arrhythmias by detailing possible pathophysiological mechanisms, existing knowledge of pro-arrhythmic factors, and results from studies in adult and pediatric COVID-19 populations, and the clinical implications.

Treatment of adult, child and newborn cardiac arrest victims with COVID-19. Recommendations from the Interamerican Society of Cardiology / Sociedad Interamericana de Cardiología (SIAC), Mexican National Cardiologists Association / Asociación Nacional de Cardiólogos de México (ANCAM) and Mexican Society of Cardiology / Sociedad Mexicana de Cardiología (SMC).

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha infligido grandes estragos a la población y en especial al personal de salud. Los esfuerzos de reanimación exigen modificaciones potenciales de las guías internacionales existentes de reanimación cardiopulmonar (RCP) debido al elevado índice de contagiosidad del virus SARS-CoV-2. Se considera que hasta 15% de los casos de COVID-19 tiene una enfermedad grave y 5% padece un trastorno crítico con una mortalidad promedio del 3%, la cual varía según sean el país y las características de los pacientes. La edad y las comorbilidades como la hipertensión arterial, enfermedad cardiovascular, obesidad y diabetes incrementan la mortalidad hasta 24%. También se ha informado un aumento reciente del número de casos de paro cardíaco extrahospitalario (PCEH). Aunque el paro cardíaco (PC) puede ser efecto de factores diversos en estos pacientes, en la mayoría de los casos se ha demostrado que el origen es respiratorio, con muy pocos casos de causa cardíaca. Se debe considerar la indicación de iniciar o continuar las maniobras de RCP por dos razones fundamentales: la posibilidad de sobrevida de las víctimas, que hasta la fecha se ha registrado muy baja, y el riesgo de contagiar al personal de salud, que es muy alto.The COVID-19 pandemic is having a large impact on the general population, but it has taken a specially high toll on healthcare personnel. Resuscitation efforts require potential modifications of the present Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) international guidelines because of the transmissibility rate of the new SARS-CoV 2 virus. It has been seen that up to 15% of COVID-19 patients have a severe disease, 5% have a critical form of infection and the mean death rate is 3%, although there are significant differences according to the country that reports it and patients' baseline conditions that include age, presence of arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity. In these high risk subjects, mortality might go up to 24%. There are also reports of a recent increase in out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (OHCA) victims. Cardiac arrest (CA) in these subjects might be related to many causes, but apparently, that phenomenon is related to respiratory diseases rather than cardiac issues. In this context, the decision to start or continue CPR maneuvers has to be carefully assessed, because of the low survival rate reported so far and the high contagion risk among healthcare personnel.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for a COVID-19 Pediatric Patient: A Successful Outcome.

Pediatric population have been affected by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to a much smaller scale compared with the adult population. The severity of the disease is variable ranging from mild form of pneumonia to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that necessitates admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) requiring a maximal level of organ support. Failure of the maximum support through mechanical ventilation can lead to the consideration of a higher level of organ support through extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We present a case of an 8 years old girl, who presented with severe ARDS secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia for which a venovenous-ECMO (VV ECMO) was initiated. This was followed by the patient developing cardiac arrest, which was managed with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). The patient was also given thrombolytic therapy during the ECPR because of high clinical suspicion for pulmonary embolism. Venovenous-arterial ECMO was then continued and the patient was successfully weaned off both VA and VV ECMO and discharged home with full neurologic recovery. This encouraging result will hopefully lead to more consideration of this lifesaving therapy for severe cardiac and respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 in pediatric patients.

In-hospital cardiac arrest in patients with coronavirus 2019.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused over 1 200 000 deaths worldwide as of November 2020. However, little is known about the clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with active COVID-19 after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). AIM: We aimed to characterize outcomes from IHCA in patients with COVID-19 and to identify patient- and hospital-level variables associated with 30-day survival. METHODS: We conducted a multicentre retrospective cohort study across 11 academic medical centres in the U.S. Adult patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and/or defibrillation for IHCA between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020 who had a documented positive test for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 were included. The primary outcome was 30-day survival after IHCA. RESULTS: There were 260 IHCAs among COVID-19 patients during the study period. The median age was 69 years (interquartile range 60-77), 71.5% were male, 49.6% were White, 16.9% were Black, and 16.2% were Hispanic. The most common presenting rhythms were pulseless electrical activity (45.0%) and asystole (44.6%). ROSC occurred in 58 patients (22.3%), 31 (11.9%) survived to hospital discharge, and 32 (12.3%) survived to 30 days. Rates of ROSC and 30-day survival in the two hospitals with the highest volume of IHCA over the study period compared to the remaining hospitals were considerably lower (10.8% vs. 64.3% and 5.9% vs. 35.7% respectively, p < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSIONS: We found rates of ROSC and 30-day survival of 22.3% and 12.3% respectively. There were large variations in centre-level outcomes, which may explain the poor survival in prior studies.

CardioPulmonary Resuscitation in patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19. A consensus of the Working group on CardioPulmonary Resuscitation of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology.

The unprecedented for modern medicine pandemic caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus ("coronavirus", Covid-19 disease) creates in turn new data on the management and survival of cardiac arrest victims, but mainly on the safety of CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) providers. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in losses of thousands of lives, and many more people were hospitalized in simple or in intensive care unit beds, both globally and locally in Greece. More specifically, in victims of cardiac arrest, both in- and out- of hospital, the increased mortality and high contagiousness of the SARS-CoV-2 virus posed new questions, of both medical and moral nature/ to CPR providers. What we all know in resuscitation, that we cannot harm the victim and therefore do the most/best we can, is no longer the everyday reality. What we need to know and incorporate into decision-making in the resuscitation process is the distribution of limited human and material resources, the potentially very poor outcome of patients with Covid-19 and cardiac arrest, and especially that a potential infection of health professionals can lead in the lack of health professionals in the near future. This review tries to incorporate the added skills and precautions for CPR providers in terms of both in- and out- hospital CPR.

In-hospital cardiac arrest in critically ill patients with covid-19: multicenter cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes associated with in-hospital cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). DESIGN: Multicenter cohort study. SETTING: Intensive care units at 68 geographically diverse hospitals across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Critically ill adults (age ≥18 years) with laboratory confirmed covid-19. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In-hospital cardiac arrest within 14 days of admission to an intensive care unit and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: Among 5019 critically ill patients with covid-19, 14.0% (701/5019) had in-hospital cardiac arrest, 57.1% (400/701) of whom received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Patients who had in-hospital cardiac arrest were older (mean age 63 (standard deviation 14) v 60 (15) years), had more comorbidities, and were more likely to be admitted to a hospital with a smaller number of intensive care unit beds compared with those who did not have in-hospital cardiac arrest. Patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation were younger than those who did not (mean age 61 (standard deviation 14) v 67 (14) years). The most common rhythms at the time of cardiopulmonary resuscitation were pulseless electrical activity (49.8%, 199/400) and asystole (23.8%, 95/400). 48 of the 400 patients (12.0%) who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation survived to hospital discharge, and only 7.0% (28/400) survived to hospital discharge with normal or mildly impaired neurological status. Survival to hospital discharge differed by age, with 21.2% (11/52) of patients younger than 45 years surviving compared with 2.9% (1/34) of those aged 80 or older. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac arrest is common in critically ill patients with covid-19 and is associated with poor survival, particularly among older patients.

COVID-19 cardiac arrest management: A review for emergency clinicians.

INTRODUCTION: A great deal of literature has recently discussed the evaluation and management of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) patient in the emergency department (ED) setting, but there remains a dearth of literature providing guidance on cardiac arrest management in this population. OBJECTIVE: This narrative review outlines the underlying pathophysiology of patients with COVID-19 and discusses approaches to cardiac arrest management in the ED based on the current literature as well as extrapolations from experience with other pathogens. DISCUSSION: Patients with COVID-19 may experience cardiovascular manifestations that place them at risk for acute myocardial injury, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest. The mortality for these critically ill patients is high and increases with age and comorbidities. While providing resuscitative interventions and performing procedures on these patients, healthcare providers must adhere to strict infection control measures and prioritize their own safety through the appropriate use of personal protective equipment. A novel approach must be implemented in combination with national guidelines. The changes in these guidelines emphasize early placement of an advanced airway to limit nosocomial viral transmission and encourage healthcare providers to determine the effectiveness of their efforts prior to placing staff at risk for exposure. CONCLUSIONS: While treatment priorities and goals are identical to pre-pandemic approaches, the management of COVID-19 patients in cardiac arrest has distinct differences from cardiac arrest patients without COVID-19. We provide a review of the current literature on the changes in cardiac arrest management as well as details outlining team composition.

Unexpected SARS-CoV-2 cardiorespiratory arrest in a myopathy patient undergoing immunosuppressive treatment: A case report.

RATIONALE: It is recommended that patients with Rheumatic diseases that are at high risk of developing active infections be screened for Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C before receiving second-line immunosuppressive therapies. With the emergence 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), expanded guidelines have not been proposed for screening in these patients before starting advanced therapy. PATIENT CONCERNS: We present an unique circumstance whereas a patient with a 5 year history of inflammatory muscle disease, diagnosed by clinical history and muscle biopsy with elevated creatine kinase levels, suffered a hypoxemic cardiopulmonary arrest due to asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 after receiving advanced immunosuppressive therapy. DIAGNOSES: The patient presented with an acute exacerbation of inflammatory muscle disease with dysphagia, muscle weakness, and elevated creatine kinase. INTERVENTIONS: After no improvement with intravenous immunoglobulin the patient received mycophenolate and plasma exchange therapy. OUTCOMES: Subsequently the patient suffered a fatal hypoxemic cardiopulmonary arrest. Polymerase chain reaction test was positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. LESSONS: We conclude that rheumatic patients, asymptomatic for SARS-CoV-2 infection, be screened and tested before initiating second-line immunosuppressive treatment.

Fatal Eosinophilic Myocarditis in a Healthy 17-Year-Old Male with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2c).

Background: Cardiac damage is frequently referred to in patients with SARS-CoV-2, is usually diagnosed by enzyme elevations, and is generally thought to be due to underlying coronary artery disease. There are references to cardiomyopathies accompanying coronavirus, but there has been no histologic confirmation.Case report: A previously healthy 17 year male old presented in full cardiac arrest to the emergency department after a 2 day history of headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Autopsy demonstrated an enlarged flabby heart with eosinophilic myocarditis. There was no interstitial pneumonia or diffuse alveolar damage. Postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs detected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) known to cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). No other cause for the eosinophilic myocarditis was elucidated.Conclusion: Like other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 may be associated with fulminant myocarditis.

Fatal Myopericarditis Following an Influenza A (H3N2) Infection.

BACKGROUND Influenza viruses induce uncomplicated infections in most cases in individuals with no known predisposing factors. Acute febrile illness is generally limited to upper respiratory symptoms and several constitutional symptoms, including headache, lethargy, and myalgia. However, influenza A virus is a cause of severe morbidity and mortality worldwide. Some patients are at risk for serious and fatal complications. Cardiac involvement is a well-known condition, but, clinically apparent influenza myocarditis is not common. Few reports exist regarding recurrent fulminant influenza myocarditis. CASE REPORT We report here a fatal case of heart failure following myocarditis in a 14-year-old female who had seasonal flu symptoms but was otherwise healthy. H3N2 influenza virus infection was detected by molecular analyses of throat and nasal swabs, suggesting damage to myocardial cells caused directly by the virus. CONCLUSIONS Pericardial effusion myopericarditis may occur during influenza virus infection in young individuals, even those with no known predisposing factors. Physicians need to be aware that acute myopericarditis can be a fatal complication of recent influenza virus infection in all patients with instable hemodynamics. Early diagnosis and treatment could reduce, in some cases, the risk of severe cardiac events. However, this sudden and fatal outcome was difficult to predict in a healthy young female with no known risk factors.

Landscape, Climate and Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome Outbreaks.

We performed a literature review in order to improve our understanding of how landscape and climate drivers affect HCPS outbreaks. Anthropogenic landscape changes such as forest loss, fragmentation and agricultural land uses are related with a boost in hantavirus reservoir species abundance and hantavirus prevalence in tropical areas, increasing HCPS risk. Additionally, higher precipitation, especially in arid regions, favors an increase in vegetational biomass, which augments the resources for reservoir rodents, also increasing HCPS risk. Although these relationships were observed, few studies described it so far, and the ones that did it are concentrated in few places. To guide future research on this issue, we build a conceptual model relating landscape and climate variables with HCPS outbreaks and identified research opportunities. We point out the need for studies addressing the effects of landscape configuration, temperature and the interaction between climate and landscape variables. Critical landscape thresholds are also highly relevant, once HCPS risk transmission can increase rapidly above a certain degree of landscape degradation. These studies could be relevant to implement preventive measures, creating landscapes that can mitigate disease spread risk.

A case of Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with severe cardiac complications.

BACKGROUND: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life threatening hematological disorder associated with severe systemic inflammation caused by an uncontrolled and ineffective immune response resulting in cytokine storm. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the most common infectious agent in patients with the viral-associated HLH. Limited numbers of cases with cardiac complication have been demonstrated in other viral-associated HLH patients. Herein, we report a pediatric case of severe EBV-associated HLH with cardiac complications. CASE PRESENTATION: A previously healthy 4-year-old Japanese female was admitted to a local hospital with a four day history of fever. Despite antibiotic treatment, her fever persisted to day 7 of the illness. Finally, the diagnosis of HLH was confirmed by fulfilling diagnostic criteria for HLH and pathological analysis of bone marrow aspiration. Real-time PCR detected a high copy number of EBV DNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) at the time of hospital admission. During treatment according to HLH-2004 protocol, sudden cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) occurred on day 30 of the illness and immediate resuscitation was successful. Acute myocarditis was considered the cause of the CPA. Although the treatment regimen was completed on day 88 of the illness, a remarkably high copy number of EBV DNA was still detected in her PBMCs. Based on our flow cytometric in situ hybridization analysis that revealed EBV infection of only B lymphocytes, we decided to administer rituximab to control the abnormal EBV infection. Afterwards the amount of EBV DNA decreased gradually to undetectable level on day 130 of the illness. Unfortunately, a coronary artery aneurysm was discovered at the left main coronary artery on day 180 of the illness. Finally, the patient was discharged from the hospital on day 203 of the illness without sequelae except for a coronary aneurysm. CONCLUSIONS: In this case report, EBV-HLH was complicated with cardiac symptoms such as myocarditis and coronary artery aneurysm. Although remarkably high copy number of EBV DNA was detected in PBMCs after completion of the HLH-2004 protocol, rituximab treatment resulted in a dramatic decrease of EBV DNA to undetectable levels. Rituximab treatment might have been beneficial for the patient's survival.

Etiologies, clinical features and outcome of cardiac arrest in HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: Compared to many other cardiovascular diseases, there is a paucity of data on the characteristics of successfully resuscitated cardiac arrest (CA) patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We investigated causes, clinical features and outcome of these patients, and assessed the specific burden of HIV on outcome. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of HIV-infected patients admitted to 20 French ICUs for successfully resuscitated CA (2000-2012). Characteristics and outcome of HIV-infected patients were compared to those of a large cohort of HIV-uninfected patients admitted after CA in the Cochin Hospital ICU during the same period. RESULTS: 99 patients were included (median CD4 lymphocyte count 233/mm(3), viral load 43 copies/ml). When compared with the control cohort of 1701 patients, HIV-infected patients were younger, with a predominance of male, a majority of in-hospital CA (52%), and non-shockable initial rhythm (80.8%). CA was mostly related to respiratory cause (n=36, including 23 pneumonia), cardiac cause (n=33, including 16 acute myocardial infarction), neurologic cause (n=8) and toxic cause (n=5). CA was deemed directly related to HIV infection in 18 cases. Seventy-one patients died in the ICU, mostly for care withdrawal after post-anoxic encephalopathy. After propensity score matching, ICU mortality was not significantly affected by HIV infection. Similarly, HIV disease characteristics had no impact on ICU outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Etiologies of CA in HIV-infected patients are miscellaneous and mostly not related to HIV infection. Outcome remains bleak but is similar to outcome of HIV-negative patients.

Successful interventional closure of a patent foramen ovale in a pediatric patient supported with a biventricular assist device.

We report on a 16-year-old boy after an event of cardiac arrest and initial treatment with a veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO). After a short stabilisation period a biventricular assist device (BVAD, Thoratec) was implanted. Although the BVAD was functioning well, the patient showed persisting hypoxemia. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a patent foramen ovale with a high right-to-left shunt due to low aspiration pressures of the BVAD. The patient was successfully treated by interventional closure of the PFO with a 27-mm Amplatzer septal occluder and could easily be weaned from the respirator. Meanwhile the boy has successfully undergone heart transplantation. PFO has to be considered as a cause of arterial hypoxemia in patients supported with ventricular assist devices. The diagnosis of a PFO may be missed under ECMO-treatment. Interventional closure of a PFO can successfully be performed even if the patient is supported with a BVAD.