Management of Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension in COVID-19 Pandemic

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as perhaps the biggest medical problem of our century. Although COVID-19 mainly affects the lungs, it also affects many organs, especially the cardiovascular system. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a pulmonary vascular disease described by pulmonary arterial vasoconstriction and remodeling, which may lead to an increased pulmonary artery pressure with varying clinical course and severity depending on the etiology and eventually to right heart failure. Because of associated comorbidities, patients with PH are likely to face a potential risk of severe complications and mortality and unfortunately, they may have worse outcomes than other patients. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us new and different challenges in the follow-up and treatment processes of patients with PH. For patients admitting to the hospital, it is important to balance the risk of exposure to COVID-19 with ongoing care and treatment services. However, the COVID-19 outbreak has brought serious challenges to PH centers to weigh the risks and benefits of diagnostic research, including potential exposure to COVID-19, and the timing of initiation of PH-specific treatment in high-risk patients. In this article, the management of PH patients during the COVID-19 pandemic;problems encountered in diagnosis, clinical follow-up and treatment processes;the different difficulties experienced during hospitalizations have been compiled.

Is there a relation between computed tomography findings and electrocardiography findings in COVID-19?

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 can cause lung damage and may present with pneumonia in patients. In the present study, the correlation between the severity of pneumonia and electrocardiography parameters of COVID-19 were examined. METHODS: A total of 93 COVID-19 patients and a control group consisting of 62 volunteers were studied. Computed thorax tomography evaluation was performed;each lung was divided into three zones. For each affected zone, scores were given. The main computed thorax tomography patterns were described in line with the terms defined by the Fleischner Society and peer reviewed literature on viral pneumonia. We compared Computed thorax tomography of patients with corrected QT (QTc) and P wave dispersion (Pd) time. RESULTS: There is a significant difference between the patient and control groups in terms of QTc values (413.5+/-28.8 msec vs. 395.6+/-16.7 msec p<0.001). Likewise, the Pd value of the patient group is statistically significantly higher than that of the control group (50.0+/-9.6 ms computed thorax tomography ec vs. 41.3+/-5.8 msec p<0.001). In the patient group, a reverse correlation was detected between computed thorax tomography score and Pd value according to partial correlation coefficient analysis (correlation coefficient: -0.232, p=0.027). In the patient group, the correlation between computed thorax tomography score and QTc value was similarly determined according to partial correlation coefficient analysis (Correlation coefficient:0.224, p=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 prolongs QTc and P wave dispersion values;and as the severity of pneumonia increases, QTc value increases. However, whereas the severity of pneumonia increases, P wave dispersion value decreases.