Search

Background: Myocardial scars detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging after COVID-19 have caused concerns regarding potential long-term cardiovascular consequences., Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate cardiopulmonary functioning in patients with versus without COVID-19-related myocardial scars., Methods: In this prospective cohort study, CMR was performed approximately 6 months after moderate-to-severe COVID-19. Before (∼3 months post-COVID-19) and after (∼12 months post-COVID-19) the CMR, patients underwent extensive cardiopulmonary testing with cardiopulmonary exercise tests, 24-h ECG, and echocardiography. We excluded participants with overt heart failure., Results: Post-COVID-19 CMR was available in 49 patients with cardiopulmonary tests at 3 and 12 months after the index hospitalization. Nine (18%) patients had small late gadolinium enhancement-detected myocardial scars. Patients with myocardial scars were older (63.2 ± 13.2 vs. 56.2 ± 13.2 years) and more frequently men (89% vs. 55%) compared to those without scars. Cardiorespiratory fitness was similar in patients with and without scars, i.e., peak oxygen uptake: 82.1 ± 11.5% versus 76.3 ± 22.5% of predicted, respectively (p = 0.46). The prevalence of ventricular premature contractions and arrhythmias was low and not different by the presence of myocardial scar. Cardiac structure and function assessed by echocardiography were similar between the groups, except for a tendency of greater left ventricular mass in those with scars (75 ± 20 vs. 62 ± 14, p = 0.02 and p = 0.08 after adjusting for age and sex). There were no significant associations between myocardial scar and longitudinal changes in cardiopulmonary function from 3 to 12 months., Conclusion: Our findings imply that the presence of minor myocardial scars has limited clinical significance with respect to cardiopulmonary function after COVID-19., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Management of hundreds of analytes obtained from the molecular multiplex techniques currently available may represent a challenge for clinicians in daily clinical practice., Objectives: The aim of the study was to describe a comprehensive and simple approach to assess such complex molecular results, to display relevant disease-specific signatures at a glance, and to facilitate their interpretation., Method: A total of 6,332 consecutive allergic patients, categorized based on clinical symptoms reported at the time of the first visit before IgE testing, were evaluated through ImmunoCAP ISAC112®., Results and Conclusions: The occurrence of bronchial asthma is associated with polcalcin, serum albumin, or lipocalin reactivity. Higher risk of severe reaction to food is linked to tropomyosin or nonspecific lipid transfer protein reactivity (in the absence of plant pathogenesis-related proteins [PR-10] or profilin sensitization). We used radar graphic display to highlight, at a glance, the molecular reactivity profiles associated with relevant disease-specific patterns., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)