The American journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Presentation and Outcome of Consecutive Patients Admitted to Hospital Due to ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related social restrictions on clinical course of patients treated for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unclear. In the present study presentation and outcome of patients with STEMI in the year 2020 were compared with the years before in a German registry that includes all patients hospitalized for acute STEMI in a region with approximately 1 million inhabitants. In the year 2020 726 patients with STEMI were registered compared with 10.226 patients in the years 2006 to 2019 (730 ± 57 patients per year). ⋯ Only 4 patients (0.6%) with STEMI in the year 2020 had SARS-CoV-2 infection, none of those died in-hospital. In conclusion, in the year 2020 a highly significant increase of STEMI-patients admitted to hospital with advanced infarction and poor prognosis was observed. As the structure of the emergency network to treat patients with STEMI was unchanged during the study period, the most obvious reason for these changes was COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdown and the fear of many people to contact medical staff during the pandemic.
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Multicenter Study
Impact and Determinants of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin-T Concentration in Patients With COVID-19 Admitted to Critical Care.
Cardiac Troponin (hs-TnT) elevation has been reported in unselected patients hospitalized with COVID-19 however the mechanism and relationship with mortality remain unclear. Consecutive patients admitted to a high-volume intensive care unit (ICU) in London with severe COVID-19 pneumonitis were included if hs-TnT concentration at admission was known. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis performed, with cohorts classified a priori by multiples of the upper limit of normal (ULN). 277 patients were admitted during a 7-week period in 2020; 176 were included (90% received invasive ventilation). hs-TnT at admission was 16.5 (9.0 to 49.3) ng/L, 56% had concentrations >ULN. 56 patients (31.8%) died during the index admission. ⋯ In conclusion, in critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonitis, the hs-TnT level at admission is a powerful independent predictor of the likelihood of surviving to discharge from ICU. In most cases, hs-TnT elevation does not represent major myocardial injury but acts as a sensitive integrated biomarker of global stress. Whether stratification based on admission Troponin level could be used to guide prognostication and management warrants further evaluation.
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Multicenter Study
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Before and During COVID in New York.
Little is known about regional differences in volume, treatment, and outcomes of STEMI patients undergoing PCI during the pandemic. The objectives of this study were to compare COVID-19 pandemic and prepandemic periods with respect to regional volumes, outcomes, and treatment of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) between January 1, 2019 and March 14, 2020 (pre-COVID period) and between March 15, 2020 and April 4, 2020 (COVID period) in 51 New York State hospitals certified to perform PCI. The hospitals were classified as being in either high-density or low-density COVID-19 counties on the basis of deaths/10,000 population. ⋯ The decrease appears to be primarily related to patients not presenting to hospitals in high-density COVID regions, rather than PCI being avoided in STEMI patients or a reduction in the incidence of STEMI. Also, high-density COVID-19 counties experienced delayed admissions and less severely ill STEMI PCI patients during the pandemic. This information can serve to focus efforts on convincing STEMI patients to seek life-saving hospital care during the pandemic.
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Multicenter Study
Trends in Costs and Risk Factors of 30-Day Readmissions for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.
As transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) continues its rapid growth as a treatment approach for aortic stenosis, costs associated with TAVI, and its burden to healthcare systems will assume greater importance. Patients undergoing TAVI between January 2012 and November 2017 in the Nationwide Readmission Database were identified. Trends in cause-specific readmissions were assessed using Poisson regression. ⋯ S. significantly declined from 2012 to 2017. However, readmissions due to arrhythmia/heart block and their associated costs increased. Continued strategies to prevent readmissions, especially those for conduction disturbances, are crucial in the efforts to optimize outcomes and costs with the ongoing expansion of TAVI.
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We aimed to compare the outcomes of combined surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to concurrent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a large U. S. population sample. The National Inpatient Sample was queried for all patients diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis who underwent SAVR with CABG or TAVR with PCI during the years 2016 to 2017. ⋯ On multivariable analysis, TAVR + PCI was associated with lowers odds for mortality adjusted OR: 0.32 (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.62) p = 0.001, lower odds for acute kidney injury, sepsis, non-home discharge, shorter length of stay and higher odds for vascular complications, need for pacemaker insertion and higher cost. The occurrence of stroke was similar between both groups. In conclusion, results from real-world observational data shows less rates of mortality and periprocedural complications in TAVR + PCI compared to SAVR + CABG.