Connections between Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome and the Outcome of Cardiac Dysfunctions Diagnosed during the Recovery from COVID-19 in Patients without a Previous History of Cardiovascular Diseases.

(1) Background: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it became obvious that individuals suffering with obesity, diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and metabolic syndrome (MS) frequently developed persisting cardiovascular complications, which were partially able to explain the onset of the long-COVID-19 syndrome. (2) Methods: Our aim was to document, by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), the presence of cardiac alterations in 112 patients suffering from post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and T2DM, MS, and/or obesity, in comparison to 91 individuals without metabolic dysfunctions (MD); (3) Results: in patients with MD, TTE borderline/abnormal left (LVF) and/or right ventricular function (RVF), alongside diastolic dysfunction (DD), were more frequently evidenced, when compared to controls (p ˂ 0.001). Statistically significant associations between TTE parameters and the number of factors defining MS, the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the number of persisting symptoms (p ˂ 0.001) were noted. Significant predictive values for the initial C-reactive protein and TyG index levels, both for the initial and the 6-month follow-up levels of these TTE abnormalities (p ˂ 0.001), were highlighted by means of a multivariate regression analysis. (4) Conclusions: in diabetic patients with MS and/or obesity with comorbid post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, a comprehensive TTE delineates various cardiovascular alterations, when compared with controls. After 6 months, LVF and RVF appeared to normalize, however, the DD-although somewhat improved-did persist in approximately a quarter of patients with MD, possibly due to chronic myocardial changes.

Impact of COVID-19 on Patients with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 infection on patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC) in terms of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), chronic liver failure acute decompensation (CLIF-AD), hospitalization, and mortality. In this retrospective study, we analyzed patients with known DLC who were admitted to the Gastroenterology Department with COVID-19. Clinical and biochemical data were obtained to compare the development of ACLF, CLIF-AD, days of hospitalization, and the presence of independent factors of mortality in comparison with a non-COVID-19 DLC group. All patients enrolled were not vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2. Variables used in statistical analyses were obtained at the time of hospital admission. A total of 145 subjects with previously diagnosed liver cirrhosis were included; 45/145 (31%) of the subjects were confirmed with COVID-19, among which 45% had pulmonary injury. The length of hospital stay (days) was significantly longer in patients with pulmonary injury compared to those without (p = 0.0159). In the group of patients with COVID-19 infection, the proportion of associated infections was significantly higher (p = 0.0041). Additionally, the mortality was 46.7% in comparison with only 15% in the non-COVID-19 group (p = 0.0001). Pulmonary injury was associated with death during admission in multivariate analysis in both the ACLF (p < 0.0001) and the non-ACLF (p = 0.0017) group. COVID-19 significantly influenced disease progression in patients with DLC in terms of associated infections, hospitalization length, and mortality.

Correspondence between Aortic and Arterial Stiffness, and Diastolic Dysfunction in Apparently Healthy Female Patients with Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome.

(1) Background: Abnormally increased arterial and aortic stiffness (AS and AoS), which are often associated with diastolic dysfunction (DD), represent common alterations in COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to assess, by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and pulse-wave velocity (PWV), the frequency of these dysfunctions in patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and to highlight potential correlations between their severity and multiple clinical and laboratory parameters. (2) Methods: In total, 121 women were included in our study, all of whom were younger than 55 and had been diagnosed with post-COVID-19 syndrome. Of those women, 67 also had metabolic syndrome (MS) (group A), whereas the other 54 did not (group B); 40 age-matched healthy subjects were used as controls (group C). (3) Results: Patients in group A had worse values of indexes characterizing AS and AoS and had more frequent DD compared to those from group B and group C (p < 0.0001). The statistical analysis evidenced significant associations between these indexes and the time that had elapsed since COVID-19 diagnosis, the factors that characterize the severity of the acute disease and those that specify MS. Multivariate regression analysis identified the following as the main independent predictors for DD: values of the AoS index, the C-reactive protein, and the triglyceride-glucose index. (4) Conclusions: Altered AS, AoS, and DD are common in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome, especially with concurrent MS, and these parameters are apparently associated not only with the severity and time elapsed since COVID-19 diagnosis but also with MS.