Open AccessCOVID-19 in adults with congenital heart disease: early morbidity and mortality in two northern Italian specialist centers
Author(s) -
Paolo Ferrero,
Massimo Chessa,
Isabelle Piazza,
Cecilia Bonino,
Irene Ferrari,
Alessandro Giamberti,
Matteo Ciuffreda,
Konstantinos Dimopoulos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
italian journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.134
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1877-9352
pISSN - 1877-9344
DOI - 10.4081/itjm.2021.1397
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , outbreak , pandemic , heart disease , pediatrics , disease , emergency medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , virology
There is no information on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related outcomes for adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD). We aim to assess the clinical burden of COVID-19 on ACHD patients during the initial stages of the pandemic in Europe. ACHD patients followed in 2 tertiary centers in the Lombardy region were screened for COVID-19-related symptoms and complications. 661 patients (52.3% male, mean age 34.9±11.7 years) with CHD of moderate (58.5%) or high (32.8%) complexity were contacted. Of these, 145 (21.9%) reported typical COVID-19 symptoms, but only 4.8% required hospitalization. We did not record confirmed COVID-19-related deaths. Patients hospitalized were elderly (P=0.03), more likely to be receiving diuretics (P=0.03) or beta-blockers (P=0.02), and have been admitted over the previous year (P=0.003). Of the 7 patients hospitalized, 2 had a systemic RV and 2 a Fontan circulation. COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality have been low in ACHD patients 6 weeks from the start of the outbreak, in one of the worse hit European regions.