The Outcome of Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the lives of many people worldwide. Patients with chronic underlying morbidities are vulnerable to get the severe form of the infection. The goal of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a large tertiary center for pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) patients. The primary end point was the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in PAH patients. The secondary end points were investigating the severity and mortality of COVID-19 infection in PAH patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Totally 75 patients were enrolled in the study from December 2019 to October 2021 and 64% were female. The mean ± SD age was 49 ± 16 years. The prevalence of COVID-19 in PAH/chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients was 44%. About 66.7% of patients had comorbidities, which was a prognostic factor for COVID-19 infection in PAH patients (P < 0.001). Fifty-six percent of infected patients were asymptomatic. The most reported symptoms in symptomatic patients were fever (28%) and malaise (29%). Twelve percent of patients were admitted with severe symptoms. The mortality rate in infected individuals was 3.7%. Conclusions: COVID-19 infection in PAH/chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients seems to be associated with high mortality and morbidity. More scientific proof is needed to clarify different aspect of COVID-19 infection in this population