A defective immune response and altered blood rheology are features of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which also cause endothelial dysfunction and thrombotic consequences. A clinically verified indicator of blood rheology and a recognized predictor of cardiovascular risk is whole blood viscosity (WBV). In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, researchers believed that elevated WBV was linked to death. For a study, they compared their hospitalized COVID-19 patients’ estimated BV (eBV) and mortality.
In the study, 5,621 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized at the Mount Sinai Health System between February 27, 2020, and November 27, 2021, made up the research population. With the help of the Walburn-Schneck model, eBV was determined. In order to assess the relationship between eBV and mortality, multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were applied. Age, sex, race, cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities, on-site medication, and baseline inflammatory biomarkers were all considered variables.
Increased in-hospital mortality was linked to estimated high-shear BV (eHSBV) and estimated low-shear BV. A 36.0% and a 7.0% increase in mortality were connected, to 1 centipoise increases in estimated low-shear BV and eHSBV, respectively (P<0.001). Participants with the highest quartile of eHSBV showed increased mortality compared to those with the lowest quartile of eHSBV (adjusted HR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.27-1.84). The link held across several categories, particularly in patients without concomitant comorbidities (adjusted HR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.28-2.22).
An elevated eBV was substantially related to greater mortality among COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. It implied that eBV can predict patient outcomes in the early phases of COVID-19 and that future therapies intended to lower WBV should be considered.
Reference: jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.04.060
