The following is a summary of “Clinical Outcomes Following Hospitalization for COVID-19 in Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis in the United States,” published in the November 2023 issue of Cardiology by Farhan et al.
For cardiac Sarcoidosis (CS) patients hospitalized with COVID-19, long-term immunosuppression and existing lung complications might worsen their prognosis.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze CS patients’ comorbidities and clinical trajectories following their hospitalization for COVID-19.
They identified patients aged ≥18 years with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (ICD-10 code “U071”, April 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020) using the National Inpatient Sample Database. Conducted a regression analysis comparing patient characteristics, demographics, and hospital outcomes in those with and without CS.
The results showed 1,608,285 COVID-19 cases, with 60 confirmed cases of CS. CS patients, on average, were younger (mean age 57.8 vs. 63.3 years, P<0.01) and had a higher mean Charlson comorbidity index (CCI: 5.17 vs. 2.72, P<0.01). Also, showed a high prevalence of previous myocardial infarction (25.0% vs. 4.2%, P<0.01), atrial fibrillation (58.3% vs. 15.6%, P<0.01), smoking (50% vs. 26.1%, P<0.01), CKD (66.7% vs. 20.6%, P<0.01), and diabetes (75.0% vs. 40.0%, P<0.01) compared to patients without CS. Worse outcomes in CS patients post-COVID-19 hospitalization, with higher rates of mechanical ventilation (25.0% vs. 11.2%, P<0.01, aOR 1.39, 95% CI: 1.37-1.41), AKI (50.0% vs. 28.2%, P<0.01, aOR 1.86, 95% CI: 1.84-1.88), and death (25.0% vs. 13.1%, P<0.01, aOR 3.15, 95% CI: 3.10-3.20).
They concluded that pre-existing cardiac sarcoidosis worsened clinical outcomes (ventilation, kidney injury, death) in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Source: ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.148.suppl_1.14035
