[COVID-19 and STEMI]

Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Cardiac Arrest and Emergency Care

The incidence of both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Patient survival and neurologic outcome after both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest were reduced. Direct effects of the COVID-19 illness combined with indirect effects of the pandemic on patient's behavior and health care systems contributed to these changes. Understanding the potential factors offers the opportunity to improve future response and save lives.

Multifaceted Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI): A Literature Review of Incidence, Treatment Modalities, and Outcomes

The global repercussions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include substantial worldwide mortality and have brought to light existing gaps in healthcare systems. Particularly, diseases requiring time-sensitive treatment, such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), have faced significant challenges due to the impact and revelations of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare infrastructure. This review addresses the impact of the pandemic on STEMI, exploring incidence, treatment modalities, and clinical outcomes. Through a critical examination of existing literature, the intricate relationship between the pandemic and cardiovascular health, specifically STEMI, is elucidated. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the management of STEMI, with changes in hospitalization rates, treatment strategies, and the presentation of the disease posing significant challenges. The contradictory results of COVID-19 and post-vaccine myocardial infarction, as well as gender differences in reported cases, highlight the need for further research to clarify these relationships.

The Hidden Pandemic: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trauma Cases Due to Domestic Violence Admitted to the Biggest Level-One Trauma Center in Austria

BACKGROUND

An alarming increase in domestic violence was reported during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in the frequency and the nature of domestic violence at the largest level-one trauma center in Austria.

METHODS

All patients admitted to our institution with domestic violence injuries 15 months before and after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic were included. For our analysis, we investigated the frequency of trauma patients after domestic violence in relation to all other trauma patients. Furthermore, age, sex, citizenship, injury pattern, injured body regions, injury mechanism, offender-victim relationship, and hospitalization rate were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Among all trauma patients admitted, the ratio of patients who reported domestic violence injuries increased from 0.465% to 0.548% since the start of the pandemic. In addition, out of the total count of domestic violence victims, the percentage of Austrian citizens increased significantly from 51.2% to 60.6% (p = 0.016). All other parameters showed no significant changes pre and post-pandemic.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a relative increase in patients with domestic violence injuries at the largest trauma unit in Austria, along with a significant increase among Austrian citizens. The remaining study parameters did not differ significantly, indicating that the frequency changed during the pandemic but not the underlying pattern of domestic violence.

Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Cardiac Arrest and Emergency Care

The incidence of both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Patient survival and neurologic outcome after both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest were reduced. Direct effects of the COVID-19 illness combined with indirect effects of the pandemic on patient's behavior and health care systems contributed to these changes. Understanding the potential factors offers the opportunity to improve future response and save lives.

Effect of Austrian COVID-19 lockdowns on acute myocardial infarction frequency and long-term mortality: a multicentre observational study

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to find out if the decrease in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) admissions during the first COVID-19 lockdowns (LD), which was described by previous studies, occurred equally in all LD periods (LD1, LD2, LD2021), which had identical restrictions. Further, we wanted to analyse if the decrease of AMI admission had any association with the 1-year mortality rate.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This study is a prospective observational study of two centres that are participating in the Vienna ST-elevation myocardial infarction network.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1732 patients who presented with AMI according to the 4th universal definition of myocardial infarction in 2019, 2020 and the LD period of 2021 were included in our study. Patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries were excluded from our study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome of this study was the frequency of AMI during the LD periods and the all-cause and cardiac-cause 1-year mortality rate of 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020.

RESULTS

Out of 1732 patients, 70% (n=1205) were male and median age was 64 years. There was a decrease in AMI admissions of 55% in LD1, 28% in LD2 and 17% in LD2021 compared with 2019.There were no differences in all-cause 1-year mortality between the year 2019 (11%; n=110) and 2020 (11%; n=79; p=0.92) or death by cardiac causes [10% (n=97) 2019 vs 10% (n=71) 2020; p=0.983].

CONCLUSION

All LDs showed a decrease in AMI admissions, though not to the same extent, even though the regulatory measures were equal. Admission in an LD period was not associated with cardiac or all-cause 1-year mortality rate in AMI patients in our study.

The Effect of COVID-19 on the Perioperative Course of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Poland: The Estimation of Perioperative Prognosis and Neural Network Analysis in 243,515 Cases from 2020 to 2021

COVID-19 causes thromboembolic complications that affect the patient’s prognosis. COVID-19 vaccines significantly improve the prognosis for the course of the infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of patient characteristics, including COVID-19 vaccinations, on perioperative mortality in acute coronary syndrome in Poland during the pandemic. We analyzed the data of 243,515 patients from the National Registry of Invasive Cardiology Procedures (Ogólnopolski Rejestr Procedur Kardiologii Inwazyjnej [ORPKI]). In this group, 7407 patients (21.74%) had COVID-19. The statistical analysis was based on a neural network that was verified by the random forest method. In 2020, the most significant impact on prognosis came from a diagnosis of unstable angina, a short period (<2 h) from pain occurrence to first medical contact, and a history of stroke. In 2021, the most significant factors were pre-hospital cardiac arrest, female sex, and a short period (<2 h) from first medical contact to coronary angiography. After adjusting for a six-week lag, a diagnosis of unstable angina and psoriasis were found to be relevant in the data from 2020, while in 2021, it was the time from the pain occurrence to the first medical contact (2−12 h) in non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and the time from first contact to balloon inflation (2−12 h) in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The number of vaccinations was one of the least significant factors. COVID-19 vaccination does not directly affect perioperative prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Investigating the Effects of Dapagliflozin on Cardiac Function, Inflammatory Response, and Cardiovascular Outcome in Patients with STEMI Complicated with T2DM after PCI

Objective

To explore the effect of dapagliflozin on cardiac function, inflammation, and cardiovascular outcome in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) combined with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods

70 patients with STEMI and T2DM were divided into the control group (n = 35) and the observation group (n = 35). Before surgery, patients in both groups were given conventional treatments such as coronary expansion, antiplatelet, anticoagulation, and thrombolysis, and PCI was performed. After the operation, both groups were given conventional antiplatelet, anticoagulation, lipid-lowering, and hypoglycemic treatments. On this basis, the observation group was treated with dapagliflozin tablets for 24 weeks. We observe and compare the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), myocardial enzyme spectrum, inflammatory reaction, and occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) of the two groups of patients before and after treatment.

Results

After treatment, the LVEDD and LVESD of the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the observation group was lower than the control group (P < 0.05). The LVEF of both groups was higher than that before treatment, and the observation group was higher than the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of two groups' patients' creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), and troponin I (cTnI) were all lower than those before treatment, and the observation group patients were all lower than the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of serum myeloperoxidase (MPO), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the two groups were all lower than those before treatment, and the observation group patients were all lower than the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, there was no statistical difference between the two groups of patients in cardiogenic death, recurrent myocardial infarction, and other adverse cardiovascular events (P > 0.05). But, the incidence of severe arrhythmia and heart failure in the observation group were both lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis showed that the median survival time without MACE in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Dapagliflozin treatment for patients with STEMI combined with T2DM after PCI can improve cardiac function to certain extent, reduce inflammation, and will reduce the incidence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes.