RESUMEN
Background: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is an independent risk factor of major adverse cardiovascular events; however, the impact of CAC on in-hospital death and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unclear. Objective: To explore the association between CAC and in-hospital mortality and adverse events in patients with COVID-19. Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study enrolled 2067 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients with definitive clinical outcomes (death or discharge) admitted from 22 tertiary hospitals in China between January 3, 2020 and April 2, 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory results, chest CT findings, and CAC on admission were collected. The primary outcome was in-hospital death and the secondary outcome was composed of in-hospital death, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and requiring mechanical ventilation. Multivariable Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier plots were used to explore the association between CAC and in-hospital death and adverse clinical outcomes. Results: The mean age was 50 years (SD,16) and 1097 (53.1%) were male. A total of 177 patients showed high CAC level, and compared with patients with low CAC, these patients were older (mean age: 49 vs. 69 years, P < 0.001) and more likely to be male (52.0% vs. 65.0%, P = 0.001). Comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) ([33.3%, 59/177] vs. [4.7%, 89/1890], P < 0.001), presented more often among patients with high CAC, compared with patients with low CAC. As for laboratory results, patients with high CAC had higher rates of increased D-dimer, LDH, as well as CK-MB (all P < 0.05). The mean CT severity score in high CAC group was also higher than low CAC group (12.6 vs. 11.1, P = 0.005). In multivariable Cox regression model, patients with high CAC were at a higher risk of in-hospital death (hazard ratio [HR], 1.731; 95% CI 1.010-2.971, P = 0.046) and adverse clinical outcomes (HR, 1.611; 95% CL 1.087-2.387, P = 0.018). Conclusion: High CAC is a risk factor associated with in-hospital death and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with confirmed COVID-19, which highlights the importance of calcium load testing for hospitalized COVID-19 patients and calls for attention to patients with high CAC. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42058-021-00072-4.
RESUMEN
Background: The risk factors for adverse events of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) have not been well described. We aimed to explore the predictive value of clinical, laboratory and CT imaging characteristics on admission for short-term outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observation study enrolled 703 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to 16 tertiary hospitals from 8 provinces in China between January 10, 2020 and March 13, 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory data, CT imaging findings on admission and clinical outcomes were collected and compared. The primary endpoint was in-hospital death, the secondary endpoints were composite clinical adverse outcomes including in-hospital death, admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and requiring invasive mechanical ventilation support (IMV). Multivariable Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank test were used to explore risk factors related to in-hospital death and in-hospital adverse outcomes. Results: Of 703 patients, 55 (8%) developed adverse outcomes (including 33 deceased), 648 (92%) discharged without any adverse outcome. Multivariable regression analysis showed risk factors associated with in-hospital death included ≥ 2 comorbidities (hazard ratio [HR], 6.734; 95% CI; 3.239-14.003, p < 0.001), leukocytosis (HR, 9.639; 95% CI, 4.572-20.321, p < 0.001), lymphopenia (HR, 4.579; 95% CI, 1.334-15.715, p = 0.016) and CT severity score > 14 (HR, 2.915; 95% CI, 1.376-6.177, p = 0.005) on admission, while older age (HR, 2.231; 95% CI, 1.124-4.427, p = 0.022), ≥ 2 comorbidities (HR, 4.778; 95% CI; 2.451-9.315, p < 0.001), leukocytosis (HR, 6.349; 95% CI; 3.330-12.108, p < 0.001), lymphopenia (HR, 3.014; 95% CI; 1.356-6.697, p = 0.007) and CT severity score > 14 (HR, 1.946; 95% CI; 1.095-3.459, p = 0.023) were associated with increased odds of composite adverse outcomes. Conclusion: The risk factors of older age, multiple comorbidities, leukocytosis, lymphopenia and higher CT severity score could help clinicians identify patients with potential adverse events.