ABSTRACT
Background: Troponin levels may be elevated in COVID-19 infection. The aim of this study was to the explore relation between troponin levels and COVID-19 severity. Materials, methods & Results: One hundred and forty consecutive patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were included. Diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia was based on positive chest computed tomography (CT) findings. Quantitative PCR test was performed in all patients. Only 74 patients were quantitative PCR-positive. Twenty four patients had severe CT findings and 27 patients had progressive disease. These patients had significantly lower albumin and higher ferritin, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients with severe CT findings and progressive disease had higher hs-cTnI levels suggesting the use of hs-cTnI in risk stratification.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , SARS-CoV-2/metabolism , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Adult , Aged , Biomarkers/blood , C-Reactive Protein/metabolism , COVID-19/blood , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/diagnostic imaging , COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing , Female , Ferritins/metabolism , Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products/metabolism , Heart Diseases , Humans , L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Serum Albumin, Human/metabolism , Thorax/diagnostic imaging , Troponin I/bloodABSTRACT
Acute heart failure (HF) is one of the most common cardiac emergencies. Pulmonary edema caused by HF may mimic an exudative disease on chest computed tomography scans. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China in December 2019 and quickly spread around the world. During this pandemic period, the need to exclude the possibility of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with acute dyspnea may cause a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acutely decompensated HF who have similar symptoms. This case report describes a diabetic patient admitted with dyspnea one week after she suffered an acute myocardial infarction. The objective of this report is to draw attention to the differential diagnosis of HF and COVID-19 pneumonia.