The Relationship Between In-Hospital Mortality and Frontal QRS-T Angle in Patients With COVID-19

Background Recent studies have demonstrated that the frontal QRS-T angle, defined as the angle between the mean QRS and T vectors, is a strong independent predictor of mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease and in the normal population. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between frontal QRS-T angle and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods A total of consecutive 532 patients with positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups as in-hospital mortality and survival groups. Frontal QRS-T angle was automatically calculated from the admission electrocardiography (ECG). Results The median age in the study population was 62 (49-72) years and 273 (51.4%) of the patients were male. The median frontal QRS-T angle was 40 degrees (20-67 IQR) in the in-hospital mortality group, while it was 27 (11-48 IQR) in the survival group (p=0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, frontal QRS-T angle was found to be an independent predictor of mortality (Odds ratio (OR):1.01, 95% Confidence interval (CI):1.00-1.02, p=0.036). Conclusion Frontal QRS-T angle, which was observed wider in the in-hospital mortality group, was found to be associated with in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.