ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There are limited data on cardiovascular complications of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy, and there are only a few case reports on coronavirus disease 2019 related cardiomyopathy in pregnancy. Differentiation between postpartum cardiomyopathy and coronavirus disease 2019 related cardiomyopathy in pregnant women who develop severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection during peripartum could be challenging. Here, we present a case of possible coronavirus disease 2019 related cardiomyopathy in a pregnant patient, followed by a discussion of potential differential diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case report, we present the case of a young pregnant Iranian woman who developed heart failure with pulmonary edema after cesarean section. She was treated because of low left ventricular ejection fraction and impression of postpartum cardiomyopathy, and her severe dyspnea improved by intravenous furosemide. On day 3, she exhibited no orthopnea or leg edema, but she was complaining of severe and dry cough. Further evaluation showed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection. CONCLUSIONS: The possibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection should be considered in any pregnant woman who develops cardiomyopathy and pulmonary edema.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/diagnosis , Cardiomyopathies/diagnosis , Heart Failure/diagnosis , Puerperal Disorders/diagnosis , Pulmonary Edema/diagnosis , Adult , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Azithromycin/therapeutic use , COVID-19/physiopathology , COVID-19/therapy , Cardiomyopathies/drug therapy , Cardiomyopathies/physiopathology , Cesarean Section , Cough/physiopathology , Diagnosis, Differential , Diuretics/therapeutic use , Dyspnea/physiopathology , Echocardiography , Electrocardiography , Female , Furosemide/therapeutic use , Heart Failure/drug therapy , Heart Failure/physiopathology , Humans , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Immunologic Factors/therapeutic use , Interferon-beta/therapeutic use , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Pre-Eclampsia , Pregnancy , Puerperal Disorders/drug therapy , Puerperal Disorders/physiopathology , Pulmonary Edema/drug therapy , Pulmonary Edema/physiopathology , SARS-CoV-2 , Stroke Volume , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected people in many countries worldwide. Discovering an effective treatment for this disease, particularly in severe cases, has become the subject of intense scientific investigation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. METHODS: This study was conducted as a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial. Fifty-nine patients with severe COVID-19 infection who did not respond to initial treatments were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received IVIg (human)-four vials daily for 3 days (in addition to initial treatment), while the other group received a placebo. Patients' demographic, clinical, and select laboratory test results, as well as the occurrence of in-hospital mortality, were recorded. RESULTS: Among total study subjects, 30 patients received IVIg and 29 patients received a placebo. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and laboratory tests were not statistically different (P > 0.05) between the two groups. The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower in the IVIg group compared to the control group (6 [20.0%] vs. 14 [48.3%], respectively; P = 0.022). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that administration of IVIg did indeed have a significant impact on mortality rate (aOR = 0.003 [95% CI: 0.001-0.815]; P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the administration of IVIg in patients with severe COVID-19 infection who did not respond to initial treatment could improve their clinical outcome and significantly reduce mortality rate. Further multicenter studies with larger sample sizes are nonetheless required to confirm the appropriateness of this medication as a standard treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: A study protocol was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials ( www.IRCT.ir ), number IRCT20200501047259N1 . It was registered retrospectively on May 17th, 2020.