Electrocardiographic changes in non-hospitalised children with COVID-19

Objectives: Many children diagnosed with COVID-19 infections did not require hospitalisation. Our objective was to analyse electrocardiographic changes in children with asymptomatic, mild or moderate COVID-19 who did not require hospitalisation Methods: All children are seen in a paediatric cardiology clinic who had asymptomatic, mild or moderate COVID-19 that did not require hospitalisation and had at least one electrocardiogram after their diagnosis were included in this retrospective analysis. Records were reviewed to determine COVID-19 disease severity and presence of Long COVID. Rhythm assessment, atrial enlargement, ventricular hypertrophy, PR/QRS/QT interval duration and ST-T wave abnormalities were analysed by a paediatric electrophysiologist. Clinically ordered echocardiograms were reviewed for signs of myopericarditis (left ventricular ejection fraction and pericardial effusion) on any subject with an electrocardiographic abnormality. Results: Of the 82 children meeting inclusion criteria (14.4 years, range 1–18 years, 57% male), 17 patients (21%) demonstrated electrocardiographic changes. Ten patients (12%) had electrocardiogram of borderline significance, which included isolated mild PR prolongation or mild repolarisation abnormalities. The other seven patients (9%) had concerning electrocardiographic findings consisting of more significant repolarisation abnormalities. None of the patients with an abnormal electrocardiogram revealed any echocardiographic abnormality. All abnormal electrocardiograms normalised over time except in two cases. Across the entire cohort, greater COVID-19 disease severity and long COVID were not associated with electrocardiographic abnormalities. Conclusions: Electrocardiographic abnormalities are present in a minority of children with an asymptomatic, mild or moderate COVID-19 infection. Many of these changes resolved over time and no evidence of myopericarditis was present on echocardiography.

Clinical impact of left atrial enlargement in Korean patients with atrial fibrillation

We sought to evaluate the clinical implication of LAE based on left atrial anterior–posterior (LA AP) dimension or LA volume index (LAVI) in Korean patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We enrolled 8159 AF patients from the CODE-AF registry. The primary outcome was rate of stroke or systemic embolism (SSE). The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe LAE by LA AP dimension was 30.6%, 18.5%, and 21.4%, and by LAVI (available in 5808 patients) was 15.7%, 12.5% and 37.8%, respectively. Compared with no or mild LAE, patients with significant LAE (moderate to severe LAE, n = 3258, 39.9%) were associated with a higher rate of SSE (2.5% vs. 1.4%, P = 0.001). Multivariable analysis suggested presence of significant LAE by LA AP dimension was associated with a higher risk of SSE in the overall population (HR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.14–2.17, P = 0.005) and in patients using anticoagulants (n = 5836, HR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.23–2.63, P = 0.002). Patients with significant LAE by LAVI were also at higher risk of SSE (HR 1.58, 95% CI: 1.09–2.29, P = 0.017). In conclusion, significant LAE by LA dimension or LAVI was present in 39.9% and 50.2% of AF patients, respectively, and was associated with a higher rate of SSE.

Clinical application of the novel 4S-AF scheme for the characterisation of patients with atrial fibrillation: a report from the ESC-EHRA EORP Atrial Fibrillation General Long-Term (AFGen LT) registry

Background Current classification systems recommended by major international guidelines are based on a single domain of atrial fibrillation (AF): temporal pattern, symptom severity or underlying comorbidity. Lack of integration between these various elements limits our approach to patients with AF and acts as a barrier against the delivery of better holistic care. The 4S-AF classification scheme was recently introduced as a means for the characterisation of patients with AF. It comprises of 4 domains: stroke risk (St), symptoms (Sy), severity of AF burden (Sb) and substrate (Su). We sought to examine the implementation of the 4S-AF scheme in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry and effects of individual domains on outcomes in AF. Methods Patients with AF from 250 centres across 27 participating European countries were included. All patients were over 18 years old and had electrocardiographic confirmation of AF within 12 months prior to enrolment. Data on demographics and comorbidities were collected at baseline. Individual domains of the 4S-AF scheme were assessed using the CHA2DS2-VASc score (St), European Heart Rhythm Association classification (Sy), temporal classification of AF (Sb), and cardiovascular risk factors and the degree of left atrial enlargement (Su). Each of these domains were used during multivariable cox regression analysis. Results A total of 6321 patients were included in the present analysis, corresponding to 57.0% of the original cohort of 11096 patients. The median age of patients was 70 (interquartile range [IQR] 62–77) years with 2615 (41.4%) females. Among these patients, 528 (8.4%) had low stroke risk (St=0), 3002 (47.5%) no or mild symptoms (Sy=0), 2558 (40.5%) newly diagnosed or paroxysmal AF (Sb=0), and 322 (5.1%) no cardiovascular risk factors or left atrial enlargement (Su=0). Median follow-up was 24 months. Using multivariable cox regression analysis, independent predictors of all-cause mortality were (St) (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 8.21 [95% CI, 2.60–25.9]), (Sb) (aHR 1.21 [95% CI, 1.08–1.35]) and (Su) (aHR 1.27 [95% CI, 1.14–1.41]). For cardiovascular mortality and any thromboembolic event, only (Su) (aHR 1.73 [95% CI, 1.45–2.06]) and (Sy) (aHR 1.29 [95% CI, 1.00–1.66]) were statistically important, respectively. None of the domains were independently linked to ischaemic stroke or major bleeding. Conclusion Overall, we demonstrated that the 4S-AF scheme may be used to provide clinical characterisation of patients with AF using routinely collected data, and each of the domains within the 4S-AF scheme were independently associated with adverse long-term outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and/or any thromboembolic event. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Left Atrial Enlargement on Non-Gated CT Is Associated with Large Vessel Occlusion in Acute Ischaemic Stroke

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Recent reports have suggested that atrial fibrillation (AF) is more prevalent in the large vessel occlusion (LVO) subgroup of acute ischaemic stroke patients. Given the association between left atrial enlargement (LAE) and AF, we sought to evaluate the feasibility of assessing LAE on non-gated CT and its association with LVO in the hyperacute stroke setting. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We analysed our prospectively collected database that included all stroke patients referred for consideration of endovascular treatment between April 14, 2020, and May 21, 2020. During this period, a CT chest was included in our regional stroke protocol to aid triage of patients suspected for COVID-19 from which cardiac measurements were obtained. Patients were dichotomized into LVO and no-LVO groups, and LA measurements were trichotomized into normal, borderline, and enlarged. Univariate analyses were performed between groups. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the included 38 patients, 21 were categorized as LVO and 17 as no LVO. There was a statistically significant association between LAE and LVO (<i>p</i> = 0.028). No significant difference was demonstrated between groups for the baseline AF and other clinical characteristics, except for baseline NIHSS (<i>p</i> = 0.0005). There was excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.969) for LA measurements. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our study provides preliminary data to suggest LAE is more prevalent in the LVO stroke subgroup at presentation and can be reliably assessed on non-gated CT in the hyperacute setting. These findings have potential implications for stratifying secondary management and may prompt a more rigorous pursuit of occult AF or other cardiac causes of stroke.