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.

Prevalence of Major Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Patients with Hypertension in a Primary Care Clinic in Hong Kong

Background Hypertension is strongly associated with cardiovascular events. Studies have shown that electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities were associated with increased risks for cardiovascular events. However local data is limited. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the prevalence of major electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with hypertension in primary care in Hong Kong, and (2) to determine the association of major electrocardiographic abnormalities with patients’ socio-economical background, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Subjects were hypertensive patients aged between 18 to 80 who were enrolled in the Risk Assessment and Management Programme (RAMP) in a general outpatient clinic in Hong Kong. Outcome measures were prevalence of probable ischaemic heart disease (IHD), complete left bundle branch block (LBBB), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with hypertension. The Pearson Chi-square test, independent t-test and Mantel-Haenszel test were used to measure the association between socioeconomic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors, and ECG abnormalities. Results 504 hypertensive patients aged 18 to 80 were recruited in a general outpatient clinic. 6.3% had probable IHD, 0.4% had complete LBBB, 4.0% had LVH and 1.0% had AF. Probable IHD was associated with smoking (P = 0.032), hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.037) and higher 10-year CV risk (P = 0.04). Complete LBBB was associated with smoking (P = 0.021) and hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.022). LVH was associated with male gender (P = 0.001) and longer duration of hypertension (P = 0.035). AF was not significantly associated with any of the clinical or sociodemographic parameters. Conclusions This study showed that a significant proportion of patients with hypertension at the primary care setting in Hong Kong had probable ischaemic heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy and atrial fibrillation. This finding is consistent with both overseas data and historic data in Hong Kong. The detection of electrocardiographic abnormalities is helpful in hypertension management by improving risk stratification.

De novo electrocardiographic abnormalities in persons living with HIV

Persons living with HIV (PLWH) may have increased incidence of cardiovascular events and longer QTc intervals than uninfected persons. We aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of de novo major electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and QTc prolongation in well-treated PLWH. We included virologically suppressed PLWH without major ECG abnormalities, who attended the 2-year follow-up in the Copenhagen comorbidity in HIV infection (COCOMO) study. ECGs were categorized according to Minnesota Code Manual. We defined de novo major ECG abnormalities as new major Minnesota Code Manual abnormalities. Prolonged QTc was defined as QTc > 460 ms in females and QTc > 450 ms in males. Of 667 PLWH without major ECG abnormalities at baseline, 34 (5%) developed de novo major ECG abnormalities after a median of 2.3 years. After adjustment, age (RR: 1.57 [1.08–2.28] per decade older), being underweight (RR: 5.79 [1.70–19.71]), current smoking (RR: 2.34 [1.06–5.16]), diabetes (RR: 3.89 [1.72–8.80]) and protease inhibitor use (RR: 2.45 [1.27–4.74) were associated with higher risk of getting de novo major ECG abnormalities. Of PLWH without prolonged QTc at baseline, only 11 (1.6%) participants developed de novo prolonged QTc. Five percent of well-treated PLWH acquired de novo major ECG abnormalities and protease inhibitor use was associated with more than twice the risk of de novo major ECG abnormalities. De novo prolonged QTc was rare and did not seem to constitute a problem in well-treated PLWH.

Potential Use of Pharmacogenetics to Reduce Drug-Induced Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH)

Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) is a common cause of hyponatremia, and many cases represent adverse reactions to drugs that alter ion channel conductance within the peptidergic nerve terminals of the posterior pituitary. The frequency of drug-induced SIADH increases with age; as many as 20% of patients residing in nursing homes have serum sodium levels below 135 mEq/L. Mild hyponatremia is associated with cognitive changes, gait instability, and falls. Severe hyponatremia is associated with cerebral edema, seizures, permanent disability, and/or death. Although pharmacogenetic tests are now being deployed for some drugs capable of causing SIADH (e.g., antidepressants, antipsychotics, and opioid analgesics), the implementation of these tests has been based upon the prior known association of these drugs with other serious adverse drug reactions (e.g., electrocardiographic abnormalities). Work is needed in large observational cohorts to quantify the strength of association between pharmacogene variants and drug-induced SIADH so that decision support can be developed to identify patients at high risk.