Prognostic utility of quantitative offline 2D-echocardiography in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 disease

To assess the prognostic utility of quantitative 2D-echocardiography, including strain, in patients with COVID-19 disease.

COVID-19-infected patients admitted to the San Paolo University Hospital of Milan that underwent a clinically indicated echocardiographic examination were included in the study. To limit contamination, all measurements were performed offline. Quantitative measurements were obtained by an operator blinded to the clinical data.

Among the 49 patients, nonsurvivors (33%) had worse respiratory parameters, index of multiorgan failure, and worse markers of lung involvement. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction (as assessed by conventional and 2-dimensional speckle tracking) was a common finding and a powerful independent predictor of mortality. At the ROC curve analyses, RV free wall longitudinal strain (LS) showed an AUC 0.77 ± 0.08 in predicting death, P = .008, and global RV LS (RV-GLS) showed an AUC 0.79 ± 0.04, P = .004. This association remained significant after correction for age (OR = 1.16, 95%CI 1.01-1.34, P = .029 for RV free wall LS and OR = 1.20, 95%CI 1.01-1.42, P = .033 for RV-GLS), for oxygen partial pressure at arterial gas analysis/fraction of inspired oxygen (OR = 1.28, 95%CI 1.04-1.57, P = .021 for RV free wall-LS and OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.04-1.62, P = .020 for RV-GLS) and for the severity of pulmonary involvement measured by a computed tomography lung score (OR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.02-1.19, P = .034 for RV free wall LS and OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.04-1.63, P = .022 for RV-GLS).

In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, offline quantitative 2D-echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function is feasible. Parameters of RV function are frequently abnormal and have an independent prognostic value over markers of lung involvement.