Management of catheter ablation in arrhythmia patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic.

AIMS: Health care providers have reduced outpatient services and delayed elective cardiac surgeries during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, while a large number of patients face more cardiovascular risks compared with those of the pandemic. The present study attempted to explore the management of catheter ablation in arrhythmia patients during the pandemic. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 1 January 2020 to 24 March 2020, a total of 269 arrhythmia patients hospitalized for catheter ablation under strict risk assessments and careful infection prevention were retrospectively analysed and considered for our analysis at our centre. Preventive measured included a 14 day quarantine, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid detection, adoption of personal protection equipment, application of hand disinfectant, management of hospital visitors, and maintenance of environmental hygiene. Three patients who had fever following ablation and were finally excluded from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and no hospital infection occurred during the 3.1 ± 1.5 day hospitalization period. Additionally, 258/269 (95.9%) patients were free from arrhythmia after a median 133 day follow-up (Q1, 81; Q3, 143; ending 1 June 2020), and no SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: By adopting strict risk assessments and careful infection prevention measures, catheter ablation in patients with arrhythmia can be safely and effectively performed during the COVID-19 epidemic in well-controlled areas.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Comorbidities in Coronavirus Disease 2019, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: Pooled Analysis of Published Data.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading widely around the world. We conducted this meta-analysis to explore the prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities in COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) cases. Methods and Results Relevant reports updated to April 17, 2020, were searched from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library with no restriction on language. A random-effects model was used in this meta-analysis to obtain pooled proportions of cardiovascular comorbidities in COVID-19, SARS, and MERS. A total of 22 studies (12 for COVID-19, 4 for SARS, and 6 for MERS) were included in this analysis, and the average age of patients with COVID-19, SARS, and MERS was 46.41±1.79, 39.16±2.25, and 52.51±4.64 years, respectively. Proportions of cardiovascular comorbidities in coronavirus diseases were as follows: COVID-19: proportion of hypertension was 17.1% (95% CI, 13.2%-20.9%), proportion of cardiac disease was 4.5% (95% CI, 3.6%-5.5%) and proportion of diabetes mellitus was 8.5% (95% CI, 5.5%-11.4%); SARS: proportion of hypertension was 4.5% (95% CI, 2.0%-7.0%), proportion of cardiac disease was 2.1% (95% CI, 0.6%-3.7%) and proportion of diabetes mellitus was 3.7% (95% CI, 1.0%-6.4%); MERS: proportion of hypertension was 30.3% (95% CI, 18.3%-42.2%), proportion of cardiac disease was 20.9% (95% CI, 10.7%-31.1%), and proportion of diabetes mellitus was 45.4% (95% CI, 27.3%-63.5%). Conclusions The prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities varies among different coronavirus-associated diseases. With the development of time, proportions of cardiovascular comorbidities in COVID-19 need further attention.

Characteristics and clinical significance of myocardial injury in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019.

AIMS: To investigate the characteristics and clinical significance of myocardial injury in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled 671 eligible hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 from 1 January to 23 February 2020, with a median age of 63 years. Clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were collected and compared between patients who died and survivors. Risk factors of death and myocardial injury were analysed using multivariable regression models. A total of 62 patients (9.2%) died, who more often had myocardial injury (75.8% vs. 9.7%; P < 0.001) than survivors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of initial cardiac troponin I (cTnI) for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87-0.96; sensitivity, 0.86; specificity, 0.86; P < 0.001]. The single cut-off point and high level of cTnI predicted risk of in-hospital death, hazard ratio (HR) was 4.56 (95% CI, 1.28-16.28; P = 0.019) and 1.25 (95% CI, 1.07-1.46; P = 0.004), respectively. In multivariable logistic regression, senior age, comorbidities (e.g. hypertension, coronary heart disease, chronic renal failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and high level of C-reactive protein were predictors of myocardial injury. CONCLUSION: The risk of in-hospital death among patients with severe COVID-19 can be predicted by markers of myocardial injury, and was significantly associated with senior age, inflammatory response, and cardiovascular comorbidities.

Association of Cardiac Injury With Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.

Importance: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide since December 2019. However, information on cardiac injury in patients affected by COVID-19 is limited. Objective: To explore the association between cardiac injury and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was conducted from January 20, 2020, to February 10, 2020, in a single center at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; the final date of follow-up was February 15, 2020. All consecutive inpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included in this study. Main Outcomes and Measures: Clinical laboratory, radiological, and treatment data were collected and analyzed. Outcomes of patients with and without cardiac injury were compared. The association between cardiac injury and mortality was analyzed. Results: A total of 416 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were included in the final analysis; the median age was 64 years (range, 21-95 years), and 211 (50.7%) were female. Common symptoms included fever (334 patients [80.3%]), cough (144 [34.6%]), and shortness of breath (117 [28.1%]). A total of 82 patients (19.7%) had cardiac injury, and compared with patients without cardiac injury, these patients were older (median [range] age, 74 [34-95] vs 60 [21-90] years; P < .001); had more comorbidities (eg, hypertension in 49 of 82 [59.8%] vs 78 of 334 [23.4%]; P < .001); had higher leukocyte counts (median [interquartile range (IQR)], 9400 [6900-13 800] vs 5500 [4200-7400] cells/µL) and levels of C-reactive protein (median [IQR], 10.2 [6.4-17.0] vs 3.7 [1.0-7.3] mg/dL), procalcitonin (median [IQR], 0.27 [0.10-1.22] vs 0.06 [0.03-0.10] ng/mL), creatinine kinase-myocardial band (median [IQR], 3.2 [1.8-6.2] vs 0.9 [0.6-1.3] ng/mL), myohemoglobin (median [IQR], 128 [68-305] vs 39 [27-65] µg/L), high-sensitivity troponin I (median [IQR], 0.19 [0.08-1.12] vs <0.006 [<0.006-0.009] µg/L), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (median [IQR], 1689 [698-3327] vs 139 [51-335] pg/mL), aspartate aminotransferase (median [IQR], 40 [27-60] vs 29 [21-40] U/L), and creatinine (median [IQR], 1.15 [0.72-1.92] vs 0.64 [0.54-0.78] mg/dL); and had a higher proportion of multiple mottling and ground-glass opacity in radiographic findings (53 of 82 patients [64.6%] vs 15 of 334 patients [4.5%]). Greater proportions of patients with cardiac injury required noninvasive mechanical ventilation (38 of 82 [46.3%] vs 13 of 334 [3.9%]; P < .001) or invasive mechanical ventilation (18 of 82 [22.0%] vs 14 of 334 [4.2%]; P < .001) than those without cardiac injury. Complications were more common in patients with cardiac injury than those without cardiac injury and included acute respiratory distress syndrome (48 of 82 [58.5%] vs 49 of 334 [14.7%]; P < .001), acute kidney injury (7 of 82 [8.5%] vs 1 of 334 [0.3%]; P < .001), electrolyte disturbances (13 of 82 [15.9%] vs 17 of 334 [5.1%]; P = .003), hypoproteinemia (11 of 82 [13.4%] vs 16 of 334 [4.8%]; P = .01), and coagulation disorders (6 of 82 [7.3%] vs 6 of 334 [1.8%]; P = .02). Patients with cardiac injury had higher mortality than those without cardiac injury (42 of 82 [51.2%] vs 15 of 334 [4.5%]; P < .001). In a Cox regression model, patients with vs those without cardiac injury were at a higher risk of death, both during the time from symptom onset (hazard ratio, 4.26 [95% CI, 1.92-9.49]) and from admission to end point (hazard ratio, 3.41 [95% CI, 1.62-7.16]). Conclusions and Relevance: Cardiac injury is a common condition among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, and it is associated with higher risk of in-hospital mortality.