Int J Clin Pract. 2021 Mar 31:e14197. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.14197. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has been sweeping the world since it emerged in late December 2019. However, little is known about cardiac injury in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. This study is to investigate the incidence and characteristics of myocardial injury in COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital.
METHODS: Fifty-four COVID-19 patients were enrolled in one ward in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China, and 5 were excluded due to missing cardiac troponin I levels. Forty-nine participants were included in the final analysis. The clinical manifestations of hospitalised patients were analysed. Patients were divided into two groups, cardiac injury group and non-cardiac injury group, based on whether cardiac troponin I was elevated. Epidemic characteristics and laboratory test results were analysed in these two group.
RESULTS: The average age of patients in the cardiac injury group was older (68.0 years old) than that in the non-cardiac injury group (61.5 years old). The percentages of patients with diabetes and critically severe pneumonia in the cardiac injury group were 38.5% and 38.5%, respectively. Lymphocytes were decreased in 53.1% of all enrolled patients, but this decrease was more prominent (76.9%) in the cardiac injury group than the non-cardiac injury group (44.4%). Patients in the cardiac injury group also had lower platelet counts.
CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 can cause cardiac injury in many patients. It is more common in older patients and patients with diabetes and is associated with a significant decrease in lymphocytes.
PMID:33792126 | DOI:10.1111/ijcp.14197