Myocardial Injury on Admission as a Risk in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: a Retrospective in-ICU Study

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, clinical presentation, cardiovascular (CV) complications and mortality risk of myocardial injury on admission in critically ill ICU inpatients with COVID-19 Design A single-center, retrospective, observational study Setting A new-built ICU in Tongji hospital (Sino-French new city campus), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China Participants Seventy-seven critical COVID-19 patients Interventions Patients were divided into myocardial injury group and non-myocardial injury group according to the on-admission levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I Measurements and Main Results Demographic data, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment and clinical outcome were evaluated stratified by the presence of myocardial injury on admission Compared with non-myocardial injury patients, patients with myocardial injury were older (68 4 ± 10 1 vs 62 1 ± 13 5 years;P=0 02), had higher prevalence of underlying CV disease (34 1% vs 11 1%;P=0 02) and in-ICU CV complications (41 5% vs13 9%;P=0 008), higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores (20 3 ± 7 3 vs 14 4 ± 7 4;P=0 001) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores [7, interquartile range (IQR) 5-10 vs 5,IQR 3-6;P<0 001] Myocardial injury on admission increased the risk of 28-day mortality [hazard ratio (HR), 2 200;95% confidence interval (CI) 1 29 to 3 74;P=0 004] Age ≥ 75 years was another risk factor for mortality (HR, 2 882;95% CI 1 51 to 5 50;P=0 002) Conclusion Critically ill patients with COVID-19 held high risk of CV complications Myocardial injury on admission may be a common comorbidity and is associated with severity and a high risk of mortality in this population