Background
Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) has been recently demonstrated to be predictive of poor outcomes in various cardiovascular settings. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the prognostic implications of LV-GLS in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods
This prospective study enrolled 180 consecutive hospitalized patients with COVID-19 admitted to a tertiary care hospital. LV-GLS from the apical four-chamber view was obtained using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). Patients with diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and/or ischemic heart disease were excluded from the study. A correlation between LV-GLS and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU), and hospital stay were sought.
Results
The mean age of included patients was 58 ± 16 years. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 70.2 ±6.5, the mean GLS was -21.9±4.3. Mean IL-6 and CRP were 9.9 ± 7.8 pg/ml and 25.8 ± 25.8 mg/dl respectively. Mean ICU and hospital stay were 7.5 ± 3.14 and 10.7 ± 4.03 days respectively. The in-hospital mortality rate was 2.22% (4 patients). Pearson correlation showed a negative correlation between LV-GLS and IL-6, CRP, ICU, and hospital stay (correlation coefficient r= -0.273, -0.301, -0.275, and -0.259 respectively).
Conclusion
In an observational cohort study, LV-GLS had a negative correlation with laboratory and clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. So far, long-term cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 are still unknown. Several reports indicate that GLS can be used as a validated method for early prediction of poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients even after the resolution of the original infection.
