2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

ST segment

Intensive care unit

Biology

Troponin

Statistics

Dormancy

Virology

Cardiology

Seed dormancy

Botany

Heart rate

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Outbreak

Risk stratification

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Stratification (seeds)

Blood pressure

Mathematics

Value (mathematics)

Myocardial infarction

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Internal medicine

Bradycardia

Electrocardiography

Ventricular hypertrophy

Medicine

Left ventricular hypertrophy

Disease

Germination

Annals of Noninvasive Electrocardiology

There is growing evidence of cardiac injury in COVID-19. Our purpose was to assess the prognostic value of serial electrocardiograms in COVID-19 patients.We evaluated 269 consecutive patients admitted to our center with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. ECGs available at admission and after 1 week from hospitalization were assessed. We evaluated the correlation between ECGs findings and major adverse events (MAE) as the composite of intra-hospital all-cause mortality or need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Abnormal ECGs were defined if primary ST-T segment alterations, left ventricular hypertrophy, tachy or bradyarrhythmias and any new AV, bundle blocks or significant morphology alterations (e.g., new Q pathological waves) were present.Abnormal ECG at admission (106/216) and elevated baseline troponin values were more common in patients who developed MAE (p = .04 and p = .02, respectively). Concerning ECGs recorded after 7 days (159), abnormal findings were reported in 53.5% of patients and they were more frequent in those with MAE (p = .001). Among abnormal ECGs, ischemic alterations and left ventricular hypertrophy were significantly associated with a higher MAE rate. The multivariable analysis showed that the presence of abnormal ECG at 7 days of hospitalization was an independent predictor of MAE (HR 3.2; 95% CI 1.2-8.7; p = .02). Furthermore, patients with abnormal ECG at 7 days more often required transfer to the intensive care unit (p = .01) or renal replacement therapy (p = .04).Patients with COVID-19 should receive ECG at admission but also during their hospital stay. Indeed, electrocardiographic alterations during hospitalization are associated with MAE and infection severity.

The value of ECG changes in risk stratification of COVID‐19 patients