Alosaimi B, AlFayyad I, Alshuaibi S, Almutairi G, Alshaebi N, Alayyaf A, Alturaiki W, Shah MA. Cardiovascular complications and outcomes among athletes with COVID-19 disease: a systematic review.
BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2022;
14:74. [PMID:
35443680 PMCID:
PMC9020555 DOI:
10.1186/s13102-022-00464-8]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Background
Current evidence still emerging regarding the risk of cardiovascular (CV) sequel associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and considerable replicated studies are needed to ensure safe return-to-play. Therefore, we aimed in this systematic review to measure the prevalence of CV complications suffered by COVID-19 athletic patients, explore the outcomes, optimal approaches to diagnoses, and safe return-to-play considerations.
Methods
A systematic search on post COVID-19 infection quantitative studies among athletes was conducted following MeSH terms in Medline, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Embase and Scopus (through 15 January 2022). We included peer-reviewed studies reported athletes’ CV complications and the outcomes post COVID-19 infection. Editorials, letters, commentaries, and clinical guidelines, as well as duplicate studies were excluded. Studies involving non-athletic patients were also excluded. Quality assessment was performed using Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.
Results
We included 15 eligible articles with a total of 6229 athletes, of whom 1023 were elite or professional athletes. The prevalence of myocarditis ranged between 0.4% and 15.4%, pericarditis 0.06% and 2.2%, and pericardial effusion between 0.27% and 58%. Five studies reported elevated troponin levels (0.9-6.9%).
Conclusions
This study provides a low prevalence of CV complications secondary to COVID-19 infection in short-term follow-up. Early recognition and continuous assessment of cardiac abnormality in competitive athletes are imperative to prevent cardiac complications. Establishing a stepwise evaluation approach is critical with an emphasis on imaging techniques for proper diagnosis and risk assessment for a safe return to play.
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