COVID-19 Aortitis: A Review of Published Cases

Falah Abu Hassan1, Minas Abu Alhalawa2, Yacoub Majdoubeh3

  • 1Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, USA.

Cureus
|March 28, 2022
PubMed

Insights

This review explores aortitis, a rare complication of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Four male patients with COVID-19-associated aortitis recovered well with conservative treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Vascular Surgery

Background:

  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents with diverse clinical manifestations and complications.
  • Aortitis, an inflammation of the aorta, is an under-recognized pathology linked to COVID-19 infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and synthesize existing case reports on aortitis in adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
  • To understand the clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of COVID-19-associated aortitis.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic literature search was conducted across major databases: PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus.
  • The review focused on case series and case reports detailing adult patients with concurrent diagnoses of aortitis and COVID-19.

Main Results:

  • Four published case reports met the inclusion criteria.
  • The affected patients were exclusively male, with a mean age of 69 years.
  • A significant majority (75%) had no prior comorbidities; all patients experienced positive outcomes with conservative management.

Conclusions:

  • Aortitis is a potential, albeit rare, complication of COVID-19.
  • Early identification and conservative treatment strategies appear effective for COVID-19-related aortitis, leading to favorable patient outcomes.

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