Relationship between echocardiographic tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and mortality in COVID-19 patients: A Meta-analysis

Unsupervised machine learning demonstrates the prognostic value of TAPSE/PASP ratio among hospitalized patients with COVID-19

BACKGROUND

The ratio of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) to pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) is a validated index of right ventricular-pulmonary arterial (RV-PA) coupling with prognostic value. We determined the predictive value of TAPSE/PASP ratio and adverse clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

METHODS

Two hundred and twenty-nine consecutive hospitalized racially/ethnically diverse adults (≥18 years of age) admitted with COVID-19 between March and June 2020 with clinically indicated transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) that included adequate tricuspid regurgitation (TR) velocities for calculation of PASP were studied. The exposure of interest was impaired RV-PA coupling as assessed by TAPSE/PASP ratio. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary endpoints comprised of ICU admission, incident acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and systolic heart failure.

RESULTS

One hundred and seventy-six patients had both technically adequate TAPSE measurements and measurable TR velocities for analysis. After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, race/ethnicity, diabetes mellitus, and smoking status, log(TAPSE/PASP) had a significantly inverse association with ICU admission (p = 0.015) and death (p = 0.038). ROC analysis showed the optimal cutoff for TAPSE/PASP for death was 0.51 mm mmHg-1 (AUC = 0.68). Unsupervised machine learning identified two groups of echocardiographic function. Of all echocardiographic measures included, TAPSE/PASP ratio was the most significant in predicting in-hospital mortality, further supporting its significance in this cohort.

CONCLUSION

Impaired RV-PA coupling, assessed noninvasively via the TAPSE/PASP ratio, was predictive of need for ICU level care and in-hospital mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 suggesting utility of TAPSE/PASP in identification of poor clinical outcomes in this population both by traditional statistical and unsupervised machine learning based methods.

Association of Right Ventricular Dilation and Dysfunction on Echocardiogram with In-Hospital Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 Compared with Other Acute Respiratory Illness

BACKGROUND

Although right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is associated with mortality in acute COVID-19, the role of RV dilation is uncertain. The prognostic significance of RV dilation and dysfunction among hospitalized patients with acute COVID-19 compared to other respiratory illnesses.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine 225 consecutive adults admitted for acute COVID-19 and 6,150 control adults admitted for influenza, pneumonia or ARDS who had a clinical echocardiogram performed. We used logistic regression models to assess associations between RV parameters and in-hospital mortality adjusted for confounders.

RESULTS

Among those with COVID-19, 48/225 (21.3%) died during the index hospitalization compared to 727/6150 (11.8%) with other respiratory illness (p=0.001). Independent of COVID-19, mild and moderate to severe RV dilation were associated with 1.4 and 2.0 times higher risk of inpatient mortality, respectively (95%CI 1.17 to 1.69; p=0.0003; 95%CI 1.62 to 2.47; p<0.0001, respectively). Similarly, mild and moderate RV dysfunction were associated with 1.4 and 1.7 times higher risk of inpatient mortality (95%CI 1.10 to 1.77; p=0.007; 95%CI 1.17 to 2.42; p=0.005, respectively). Relative to normal RV size and non-COVID-19 acute respiratory illness, mild and moderate RV dilation were associated with 1.4 times and 2.0 times higher risk among those without COVID-19 and 1.9 times higher and 3.0 times higher risk among those with COVID-19, with similar findings for RV dysfunction. Having both RV dilation and dysfunction or RV dilation alone were associated with 1.7 times higher risk while RV dysfunction alone was associated with 1.4 times higher risk compared to normal RV size and function.

CONCLUSIONS

RV dilation and dysfunction are associated with increased risk of inpatient mortality among those with COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Abnormal RV findings may identify those at higher risk of short-term mortality from acute respiratory illness including COVID-19 beyond other risk markers.

The quality, safety, feasibility, and interpretive accuracy of echocardiographic and lung ultrasound assessment of COVID-19 patients using a hand-held ultrasound

Background

The association between COVID‐19 infection and the cardiovascular system necessitates the use of an echocardiogram in this setting. Information on the utilization, safety, and quality of point‐of‐care cardiac and lung ultrasound using a hand‐held device in these patients is scarce.

Aims

To investigate the safety, technical aspects, quality indices, and interpretive accuracy of a hand‐held echocardiogram in patients with COVID‐19.

Methods

From April‐28 through July‐27, 2020, consecutive patients with COVID‐19 underwent hand‐held echocardiogram and lung ultrasound evaluation (Vscan Extend™; GE Healthcare) within 48‐h of admission. The operators recorded a series of technical parameters and graded individual experiences. The examinations were further analyzed by a blinded fellowship‐trained echocardiographer for general quality, proper acquisition, and right ventricular (RV) demonstration.

Results

Among 103 patients, 66 (64.1%) were male. Twenty‐nine (28.2%) patients could not turn on their left side and 23 (22.3%) could not maintain effective communication. The mean length of each echocardiogram study was 8.5 ± 2.9 min, battery usage was 14 ± 5%, and mean operator‐to‐patient proximity was 59 ± 11 cm. Ninety‐five (92.2%) examinations were graded as fair/good quality. A fair agreement was demonstrated between the operator and the echocardiographer for general ultrasound quality (Kappa = 0.329, p < 0.001). A fair‐good correlation (r = 0.679, p < 0.001) and substantial agreement (Kappa = 0.612, p < 0.001) were demonstrated between the operator and echocardiographer for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), whereas a fair agreement was demonstrated for RV systolic function (Kappa = 0.308, p = 0.002). LVEF agreement was also assessed using the Bland‐Altman analysis revealing a mean bias of −0.96 (95% limits of agreement 9.43 to −11.35; p = 0.075).

Conclusions

Among patients with COVID‐19, echocardiography with a hand‐held ultrasound is a safe and reasonable alternative for a complete formal study (<10% poor‐quality indices). Echocardiogram assessment by the operators during the exam acquisition is reliable for LVEF, while RV systolic function should be subsequently offline reassessed.

Right Ventricular Assessment in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients and its Prognostic Importance

Background; Cardiac injury is a prevalent complication and is associated with worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients. The increased cardiac workload resulting from respiratory failure and hypoxemia is a common mechanism of cardiac injury and the right ventricle may bear the brunt of its impact. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence and prognostic value of RV dysfunction in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU using conventional echocardiography parameters.Patients were subjected to full history taking, and clinical examination, Computed Tomography of chest was done for all patients to assess severity of lung infiltration, all patients received standard treatment according to Ministry of Health and Population COVID19 treatment protocol recommendations. Echocardiographic assessment was done to all patients.The mean age of the patients was 61.10±9.64years (range 42-80years).There were 36 (60%) male and 24 (40%) female. The non-survivor group consisted of 28 patients (46.7%) and survivors consisted of 32 patients (53.3%). There was statistically significant association between mortality and RV function  regarding TAPSE, FAC%, RV basal diameter and EPAP. We concluded that in COVID-19 patients, RV function must be assessed and its prognostic importance recognized. RV dysfunction is not only a symptom of high pulmonary pressures, but it also contributes to cardiac insufficiency.