Aortic thrombosis as a dramatic vascular complication in COVID-19 disease.

OBJECTIVE: To report clinical outcomes of COVID-19 related acute aortic thrombosis (AAT). METHODS: Consecutive COVID-19 patients presenting with AAT between April 2020 and August 2021 were included retrospectively. Clinical and radiological data were prospectively collected. RESULTS: Ten patients (men, 90%; mean age, 64 ± 2 years) were included. At the time of AAT diagnosis, four patients were in intensive care unit. Median time between diagnosis of COVID-19 and AAT was 5 days [IQR 0-8.5]. Clinical presentation was acute lower limb ischaemia (n=9) and mesenteric ischaemia (n=2). Thrombus localization was the abdominal aorta (n=5), the thoracic aorta (n=2) or both (n=3), with the following embolic sites: lower limbs (n=9), renal arteries (n=3), superior mesenteric artery (n=2), splenic artery (n=1), cerebral arteries (n=1). Revascularization was performed in 9 patients, using open (n=6), endovascular (n=2) or hybrid techniques (n=1). Three patients required reinterventions. The 30-day mortality was 30%. Three major amputations were performed in two patients, resulting in a free-amputation survival rate of 50% after a median follow-up of 3,5 months [IQR 2-4.1]. CONCLUSION: AAT is a rare and devastating complication of COVID-19 disease, responsible for high mortality and amputation rates.

Thrombosis of Medium-Sized and Large Arteries During Covid-19 Infection: Results of the COVIVASC Study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 infection is associated not only with venous thromboses but also with arterial thromboses (COV-ATs) in relation with an endothelial dysfunction, a coagulopathy and rhythm disorders. The incidence, the topography, and the prognosis of COV-ATs remain poorly known. The objective of this study was to report the overall experience of the Greater Paris University Hospitals (Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris, AP-HP) during the first pandemic wave of COVID-19 infection. METHODS: After approval by the ethics committee, a study using the AP-HP clinical data warehouse was carried out between March and May 2020. Overall, 124,609 patients had a polymerase chain reaction for COVID-19 in our hospitals, of which 25,345 were positive. From 20,710 exploitable stays, patients tested positive for COVID who presented an episode of acute COV-AT (except coronary and intracranial arteries) were selected on the basis of the French medical classification for clinical procedures codes. The data are presented as absolute values with percentages and/or means with standard deviation. RESULTS: Over the studied period, 60 patients (aged 71±14 years, 42 men) presented a COV-AT at the time of their hospitalization, an incidence of 0.2%. The arterial complication occurred 3±7 days after the COVID infection and was inaugural in 30% of the cases (n = 18). The sites of COV-AT were the lower extremities (n = 35%, 58%), the abdominal aorta (n = 10%, 17%), the thoracic aorta (n = 7%, 12%), the upper limbs (n = 7%, 12%), the cerebral arteries (n = 7%, 12%), the digestive arteries (n = 6%, 10%), the renal arteries (n = 2%, 3%), and the ophthalmic artery (n = 1%, 2%). Multiple COV-ATs were observed in 13 patients (22%). At the time of diagnosis, 20 (33%) patients were in intensive care, including six (10%) patients who were intubated. On computed tomography angiography, COVID lesions were classified as moderate and severe in 25 (42%) and 21 (35%) cases, respectively. Revascularization was attempted in 27 patients (45%), by open surgery in 16 cases, using endovascular techniques in 8 cases and with a hybrid approach in three cases. Six patients (22%) required reinterventions. The duration of hospitalization was 12±9 days. Early mortality (in-hospital or at 30 days) was 30% (n = 18). Nine (15%) patients presented severe nonlethal ischemic complications. CONCLUSIONS: Arterial involvement is rare during COVID-19 infection. The aorta and the arteries of the limbs are the privileged sites. The morbi-mortality of these patients is high. Future studies will have to determine if the systematization of anticoagulation therapy decreases the incidence and the severity of the condition.

Anticoagulation Before Hospitalization Is a Potential Protective Factor for COVID-19: Insight From a French Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease associated with thrombotic outcomes with coagulation and endothelial disorders. Based on that, several anticoagulation guidelines have been proposed. We aimed to determine whether anticoagulation therapy modifies the risk of developing severe COVID-19. Methods and Results Patients with COVID-19 initially admitted in medical wards of 24 French hospitals were included prospectively from February 26 to April 20, 2020. We used a Poisson regression model, Cox proportional hazard model, and matched propensity score to assess the effect of anticoagulation on outcomes (intensive care unit admission or in-hospital mortality). The study enrolled 2878 patients with COVID-19, among whom 382 (13.2%) were treated with oral anticoagulation therapy before hospitalization. After adjustment, anticoagulation therapy before hospitalization was associated with a better prognosis with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55-0.88). Analyses performed using propensity score matching confirmed that anticoagulation therapy before hospitalization was associated with a better prognosis, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.43 (95% CI, 0.29-0.63) for intensive care unit admission and adjusted hazard ratio of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.61-0.98) for composite criteria intensive care unit admission or death. In contrast, therapeutic or prophylactic low- or high-dose anticoagulation started during hospitalization were not associated with any of the outcomes. Conclusions Anticoagulation therapy used before hospitalization in medical wards was associated with a better prognosis in contrast with anticoagulation initiated during hospitalization. Anticoagulation therapy introduced in early disease could better prevent COVID-19-associated coagulopathy and endotheliopathy, and lead to a better prognosis.

D-dimer at hospital admission for COVID-19 are associated with in-hospital mortality, independent of venous thromboembolism: Insights from a French multicenter cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with coagulation disorders, in particular high concentrations of D-dimer, and increased frequency of venous thromboembolism. AIM: To explore the association between D-dimer at admission and in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalised for COVID-19, with or without symptomatic venous thromboembolism. METHODS: From 26 February to 20 April 2020, D-dimer concentration at admission and outcomes (in-hospital mortality and venous thromboembolism) of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 in medical wards were retrospectively analysed in a multicenter study in 24 French hospitals. RESULTS: Among 2878 patients enrolled in the study, 1154 (40.1%) patients had D-dimer measurement at admission. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified a D-dimer concentration>1128ng/mL as the best cut-off value for in-hospital mortality (area under the curve 64.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 60-69), with a sensitivity of 71.1% (95% CI 62-78) and a specificity of 55.6% (95% CI 52-58), which did not differ in the subgroup of patients with venous thromboembolism during hospitalisation. Among 545 (47.2%) patients with D-dimer concentration>1128ng/mL at admission, 86 (15.8%) deaths occurred during hospitalisation. After adjustment, in Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models, D-dimer concentration>1128ng/mL at admission was also associated with a worse prognosis, with an odds ratio of 3.07 (95% CI 2.05-4.69; P<0.001) and an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.11 (95% CI 1.31-3.4; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: D-dimer concentration>1128ng/mL is a relevant predictive factor for in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 in a medical ward, regardless of the occurrence of venous thromboembolism during hospitalisation.