Current problems in cardiology
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Review Practice Guideline
The Iranian Society of Echocardiography (ISE) Statement on Performing Echocardiography During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic has caused a significant burden on the global health system. Considerable cardiovascular involvement has been reported among COVID-19 patients with higher ICU admission and mortality rates among patients with cardiovascular comorbidities. ⋯ On the other hand, providing safety for the patients and the healthcare personnel is a matter of great concern in the pandemic state. In this document, we have provided recommendations on performing echocardiography in hospital echocardiography labs and outpatient echocardiography clinics during the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease of 2019) outbreak.
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Meta Analysis
Association of Cardiovascular Disease With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Severity: A Meta-Analysis.
Observational studies have reported an association between underlying cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients, but this still remains unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis of recent studies that reported the association of CVD with worse prognosis and increased mortality in COVID-19 patients. Literature search through PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase was completed by 2 reviewers from November 1, 2019 to April 20, 2020. ⋯ However, this study did not find a significant association between previous history of CVD and mortality in severe COVID-19 disease (OR = 1.72; 95% CI: 0.97-3.06, I2 = 0%, P = 0.46). Pre-existing CVD is associated with worse outcomes among patients with COVID-19. Clinicians and policymakers need to take account of these findings in implementing risk stratification models.
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The 2019 coronavirus disease is a serious public health emergency, with serious adverse implications for populations, healthcare systems, and economies globally. Recently, concerns have been raised about possible association between ethnicity, incidence and outcomes of COVID-19 arisen from early government data. ⋯ We call for data on ethnicity to be routinely collected by governments, as part of an international collaboration, alongside other patient demographics and further research to robustly determine the magnitude of association. Moreover, governments must learn from previous pandemics and recommended strategies to mitigate risks on minority ethnicities due to socioeconomic disadvantages.