SHARK FIN ECG PATTERN IN A PATIENT WITH TAKOTSUBO SYNDROME - CASE STUDY AND LITERATURE REVIEW.

Shark fin or triangular QRS-ST-T waveform ECG pattern, also known as lambda-wave ST elevation or giant R wave syndrome, is a particular ECG presentation where QRS complex, ST-segment and T-wave are fused in a unique complex. Originally described in some patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the acute phase, it has been found to be associated with a high risk of ventricular fibrillation and cardiogenic shock as well as with a high in-hospital mortality. However, shark fin ECG pattern has also been reported in patients with non-acute coronary syndrome related ST-elevation (NASTEP), including stress-induced takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Fourteen such cases (all females) have been reported so far. The authors present a case of a 56-year-old male with shark fin ECG pattern associated with TTS triggered by burn injuries of head, back, upper, lower limbs and the respiratory tract. Due to respiratory insufficiency and heart failure with hemodynamic compromise, he required mechanical ventilation and catecholamines use. Echocardiography showed apical and midventricular akinesia with left ventricular ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain reduced to 30% and -6.8%, respectively and a high segmental post-systolic index. Shark fin pattern maintained within 2 days, then ST-T evolution was observed. Echocardiographic improvement followed by almost normalization were seen after 6 and 9 days, respectively. No cardiac arrhythmias were recorded as in most of the described cases with shark fin ECG and TTS.

Native heart valve thrombosis associated with COVID-19 - a report of 4 cases.

Native heart valve thrombosis (NHVT) is a rare valvular pathology, usually associated with prothrombotic state or disturbed intracardiac blood flow related to structural valve abnormalities. While different venous and arterial thromboembolic complications of COVID-19 have been widely described, so far NHVT has not been reported in the context of the disease. The authors describe 4 cases of NHVT associated with COVID-19, revealed on aortic, mitral (2 patients) and tricuspid valve. In a 29-yearold male with mild pneumonia, large thrombus developed on bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), which resulted in fatal brain emboli. In a 76-yearold male with a history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) being in a recovery period after COVID-19, central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) was the first sign of mitral valve thrombus, which disappeared after 3 weeks, during apixaban use. Such therapy was also successful in a 46-yearold female with multiple cardiovascular risk factors in whom mitral valve thrombus was found in a routine echocardiography after she got COVID-19 the third time. In a 75-year-old man with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia and bacterial coinfection, coexistent transient focal LV dysfunction and tricuspid valve thrombus were observed. The patient was treated with apixaban as well; however, in this case only reduction in the thrombus size was seen after 4 months therapy. The authors indicate that in patients with COVID-19 and NHVT, other prothrombotic conditions can usually be found. This complication may involve different valves and occur irrespective of COVID-19 severity. Interdisciplinary evaluation of such patients is necessary.

Retroperitoneal hematoma in COVID-19 patients - case series.

COVID-19 patients, particularly those with severe pulmonary involvement, are at an increased thromboembolic risk related, among various causes, to the cytokine storm and excessive activation of the coagulation cascade and platelets. Different intensity of anticoagulation for them is proposed, mainly with low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs); in a confirmed pulmonary embolism (PE) the therapeutic dose of LMWH is routinely used. Some authors suggest that hemorrhagic complications in COVID-19 patients are rare. At the same time, one can find reports on internal bleeding, including retroperitoneal hematoma (RPH) and other abdominal hematomas. CASE REPORTS: The authors describe 5 cases (3 of those aged more than 80 years) with giant RPHs and with moderate/severe COVID-19 pneumonia, treated before RPH diagnosis with different enoxaparin doses. The therapeutic dose was given to the male with verified PE limited to the segmental/subsegmental pulmonary arteries and initially to the female in whom echocardiography was strongly suggestive of PE, yet this diagnosis was excluded on CT angiography. In one patient, the enoxaparin dose was escalated from 40 mg bd to 60 mg bd after the D-dimer increase. Two patients had bleeding complications despite the enoxaparin dose restricted to 40 mg/daily or bd. Two males had a coexistent psoas hematoma while in only one female there was a coexistent femoral hematoma. RPHs occurred between day 4 and 14 of hospitalization and all were treated conservatively. Three patients who died were particularly charged, so their deaths were not merely directly associated with RPH, which was closely analyzed in one autopsy performed. The authors underline that the choice of anticoagulation intensity in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia without venous thromboembolism seems sometimes difficult but recent publications indicate the low prophylactic enoxaparin dose as an optimal option. Anticoagulation dose escalation based only on the D-dimer level may not be appropriate for certain patients; moreover, the D-dimer increase is commonly observed during internal bleeding.

Brugada phenocopy in pulmonary embolism - clinicopathological case study and literature review.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited channelopathy characterized on ECG by coved (type 1) or saddle-back (type 2) ST-segment elevation (STE) of 2 or more mm in the right precordial leads and is associated with an increased risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The term Brugada phenocopy (BrPh) indicates conditions that may reversibly induce Brugada-like ECG pattern in patients without true BrS; e.g.: metabolic abnormalities, mechanical heart compression, ischemia, myocarditis/pericarditis, and pulmonary embolism (PE). Only 9 cases of BPh associated with PE have been described so far. The authors present another case of a 41-year-old-male and analyze the clinical data of all 10 subjects (7 males and 3 females). Type 1 of ECG Brugada pattern was present in 7 patients (including ours), type 2 was found in 2 persons; in 1 case ECG pattern was not defined. In 7 patients STE was prominent (5 mm or more in at least 1 lead). STE was limited to V1-V2 leads in 4 persons, extended to V3 in 3 patients and even to V4 in 3 other patients, which correlated with the significant right ventricular (RV) dilatation. Concomitant left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction was reported only in 1 patient, which suggested that paradoxical embolization of coronary artery was not the mechanism of BrS-like STE. Clinical course of PE was usually severe (5 individuals were treated with thrombolysis) and in 3 cases it ended with death. The autopsy was only performed on our patient. It showed diffuse (ischemic) injury of RV and LV secondary to RV overload, decreased cardiac output and severe oxygen deficiency in myocardium, which could have led to BrS pattern in ECG.