Association of acute COVID-19 with 24 hours-pulse wave velocity in cameroonian workers

Introduction. COVID-19appears to have a vascular tropism responsible for diffuse vasculitis-like cell damage. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of Sars-Cov-2 infection on arterial stiffness.Material and methods. This was a cross-sectional analytical case-controlstudy with 1:1 matching (1 case to 1 control) over a six-month period from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021 at the medical-social centerof the autonomous port of Douala. We measured the pulse wave velocity (PWV) in two groups of patients (group 1: COVID-19and group 2: non-COVID-19) using a MOBIL-O-GRAPH 24h PWA MonitorTM. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Result. A total of 122 patients (61 COVID-19and 61 non-covid) were included in this study, among which 68 (55.7%) male. The mean age was 41±11 years. PWV as well as POV adjusted for age and mean BP were similar in both groups. The mean 24-hour, diurnal and nocturnal PWV were slightly higher in COVID-19patients than in controls by 0.1 m/s (p=0.67), 0.2m/s (p=0.37) and 0.2m/s (p=0.25) respectively. COVID-19infection was not significantly associated with PWV (p=0.082).Conclusion. PWV were slightly higher in COVID-19patients and increased arterial stiffness was not significantly associated with COVID-19status in the acute phase of infection.

Cardiovascular assessment after treatment for retinopathy of prematurity: a comparative study between anti-VEGF agent (aflibercept) and laser

The aim of this study was to compare the cardiac effects and aortic arterial indices followingintravitreal aflibercept treatment or diode laser photocoagulation for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants.Methods:This single-centre, retrospective study was conducted in infants who were administered laser photocoagulation (LPC) or intravitreal aflibercept (IVA) treatment as initialtreatment and had completed at least one year of corrected age. The patients were evaluated in terms of aortic elastic parameters, right and left ventricular systolic and diastolic function using conventional, pulsed Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) echocardiographic parameters.Results:Fifteen infants were in the LPC group, 16 in the IVA group, and 20 in the control group. Although there were some statistically significant differences in terms of pulsed and TDI echocardiographic parameters between the treatmentand control groups, these values could not clearly be adoptedas a diastolic dysfunction and myocardial performance indices were not influenced. The aortic elastic parameters were impaired in both LPC and IVA groups compared to the control group. Consequently, we observed only minor differences between the treatment groups, which may suggest subtle changes due to the anti-angiogenictreatment.Conclusion:Although favourable and promising outcomes were obtained with intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents for the treatment of ROP,concerns have been raised about potential systemic side effects, including potential cardiovascular side effects caused by these agents. The small reduction in right ventricular Doppler velocities could probably be explained by the us of anti-angiogenic or laser treatment in infants