| Literature DB >> 33068277 |
Lou M Almskog1,2, Agneta Wikman3, Jonas Svensson4, Michael Wanecek1,5, Matteo Bottai6, Jan van der Linden2,7, Anna Ågren8,9,10.
Abstract
High prevalence of thrombotic events in severely ill COVID-19 patients have been reported. Pulmonary embolism as well as microembolization of vital organs may in these individuals be direct causes of death. The identification of patients at high risk of developing thrombosis may lead to targeted, more effective prophylactic treatment. The primary aim of this study was to test whether rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) at admission indicates hypercoagulopathy and predicts the disease severity, assessed as care level, in COVID-19 patients. The study was designed as a prospective, observational study where COVID-19 patients over 18 years admitted to hospital were eligible for inclusion. Patients were divided into two groups depending on care level: (1) regular wards or (2) wards with specialized ventilation support. Conventional coagulation tests, blood type and ROTEM were taken at admission. 60 patients were included; age 61 (median), 67% men, many with comorbidities (e.g. hypertension, diabetes). The ROTEM variables Maximum Clot Firmness (EXTEM-/FIBTEM-MCF) were higher in COVID-19 patients compared with in healthy controls (p < 0.001) and higher in severely ill patients compared with in patients at regular wards (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that hypercoagulopathy is present early in patients with mild to moderate disease, and more pronounced in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Non-O blood types were not overrepresented in COVID-19 positive patients. ROTEM variables showed hypercoagulopathy at admission and this pattern was more pronounced in patients with increased disease severity. If this feature is to be used to predict the risk of thromboembolic complications further studies are warranted.Entities:
Keywords: Coagulopathy; Covid-19; Fibrinogen; Thromboelastometry; Thrombosis
Mesh:
Year: 2020 PMID: 33068277 PMCID: PMC7568025 DOI: 10.1007/s11239-020-02312-3
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Thromb Thrombolysis ISSN: 0929-5305 Impact factor: 2.300
Fig. 1ROTEM data. Dashed horizontal lines are upper and lower reference values. p values were calculated using a two-sided Wilcoxon signed rank test (ns = p > 0.05, ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001”, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). In a EXTEM Coagulation Time (reference: 38–79 s); b EXTEM Maximum Clot Firmness (reference: 50–72 mm); c EXTEM Clot Formation Time (reference: 34–159 s); and d FIBTEM Maximum Clot Firmness (reference: 9–25 mm)
Fig. 2Scatter plots showing ROTEM data and coagulation markers for patients tested during the first day after admission. P-fibrinogen plotted against FIBTEM-MCF. The red vertical line is the upper reference limit for FIBTEM-MCF (25 mm); blue horizontal line upper reference limit for P-Fibrinogen (4.2 g/L)
Baseline characteristics of COVID-19 patients and healthy controls
| COVID-19 | Healthy blood donors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular wards | Specialized wards | Total | ||
| N = 40 | N = 20 | N = 60 | N = 86 | |
| Gender male, N (%) | 28 (70%) | 12 (60%) | 40 (67%) | 49 (57%) |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 61 (51–74) | 62 (55–66) | 61 (52–71) | 49 (37 - 56) |
| BMI, kg/m2, median (IQR) | 26 (24–32) | 28 (25–32) | 27 (24–32) | |
| Caucasian origin | 21 (52.5%) | 13 (65%) | 34 (57%) | |
| Non-caucasian origin | 19 (47.5%) | 7 (35%) | 26 (43%) | |
| Previous thromboembolic disease, N(%) | 4 (10%) | 2 (10%) | 6 (10%) | |
| Anticoagulant treatment at inclusion, N (%) | 8 (20%) | 2 (10%) | 10 (17%) | |
| Diabetes, N (%) | 8 (20%) | 9 (45%) | 17 (28%) | |
| Smoking, N (%) | 2 (5%) | 3 (15%) | 5 (8%) | |
| COPD/asthma, N (%) | 6 (15%) | 4 (20%) | 10 (17%) | |
| Hypertension, N (%) | 13 (33%) | 12 (60%) | 25 (42%) | |
| Cardiovascular disease, N (%) | 5 (13%) | 4 (20%) | 9 (15%) | |
| Malignancy, N (%) | 4 (10%) | 4 (20%) | 8 (13%) | |
| Other diseases, N (%) | 9 (23%) | 6 (30%) | 15 (25%) | |
| Days with COVID symptoms at inclusion, median (IQR) | 10 (7–14) | 12 (9–16) | 11 (7–14) | |
| Days at hospital at inclusion, median (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 2.5 (1–5) | 1 (1–2) | |
| Thrombosis at inclusion, N (%) | 2 (5%) | 4 (20%) | 6 (10%) | |
| Anticoagulant prophylaxis before ROTEM analysis, N (%) | 21 (53%) | 15 (75%) | 36 (60%) | |
IQR interquartile range, BMI body mass index, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Laboratory test results for COVID-19 patients and healthy controls
| COVID-19 | Healthy controls | Healthy controls versus | Regular wards versus | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular wards | Specialized wards | Total | ||||
| N = 40 | N = 20 | N = 60 | N = 86 | |||
| Covid-positive, verified | 40 (100%) | 20 (100%) | 60 (100%) | |||
| D-dimer, mg/L, median (IQR) | 0.6 (0.5–1.0) | 1.5 (0.7–4.0) | 0.7 (0.5–1.5) | 0.002 | ||
| Hemoglobin, g/L, median (IQR) | 137 (125–148) | 123 (110–128) | 129 (120–141) | 141 (134–150) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Platelet count, 109/L, median (IQR) | 212 (175–259) | 252 (206–341) | 221 (181–287) | 257 (229–283) | 0.005 | 0.094 |
| APTT, sec, median (IQR) | 26 (24–27) | 26 (25–30) | 26 (24–29) | 33 (31–36) | <0.001 | 0.891 |
| INR, median (IQR) | 1.0 (1.0–1.1) | 1.0 (1.0–1.1) | 1 (1–1.1) | 1.0 (1.0–1.1) | 0.107 | 0.843 |
| P-fibrinogen, g/L, median (IQR) | 5.4 (4.3–6.5) | 6.8 (4.8–7.6) | 5.7 (4.3–6.9) | 2.7 (2.4–3.0) | <0.001 | 0.125 |
| Antithrombin, kIE/L, median (IQR) | 1.0 (0.9–1.1) | 1.0 (0.9–1.1) | 1.0 (0.9–1.1) | 0.836 | ||
| EXTEM-CT, sec, median (IQR) | 70 (61–75) | 90 (78–108) | 74 (64–90) | 47 (43–51) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| EXTEM-CFT, sec, median (IQR) | 49 (44–63) | 46 (42–55) | 49 (43–63) | 91 (79–101) | <0.001 | 0.485 |
| EXTEM-A5, mm, median (IQR) | 51 (47–54) | 57 (54–60) | 53 (48–58) | 0.009 | ||
| EXTEM-A10, mm, median (IQR) | 61 (57–65) | 68 (63–70) | 63 (59–68) | 0.006 | ||
| EXTEM-MCF, mm, median (IQR) | 70 (66–73) | 76 (71–77) | 71 (68–75) | 64 (62–68) | <0.001 | 0.009 |
| EXTEM-LI30, %, median (IQR) | 100 (100–100) | 100 (100–100) | 100 (100–100) | 0.632 | ||
| INTEM-CT, sec, median (IQR) | 190 (173–202) | 183 (175–195) | 187 (173–202) | 163 (157–170) | <0.001 | 0.588 |
| INTEM-CFT, sec, median (IQR) | 60 (50–73) | 46 (40–-59) | 56 (45–71) | 63 (57–72) | 0.001 | 0.041 |
| INTEM-A5, mm, median (IQR) | 47 (42–51) | 54 (49–59) | 49 (45–54) | 0.014 | ||
| INTEM-A10, mm, median (IQR) | 58 (54–61) | 64 (60–68) | 60 (55–64) | 0.010 | ||
| INTEM-MCF, mm, median (IQR) | 67 (63–69) | 72 (68–75) | 67 (64–72) | 66 (64–69) | 0.050 | 0.006 |
| INTEM-LI30, %, median (IQR) | 100 (100–100) | 100 (100–100) | 100 (100–100) | 1.000 | ||
| FIBTEM-MCF, mm, median (IQR) | 27 (23–31) | 32 (28–36) | 29 (24–33) | 13 (11–15) | <0.001 | 0.036 |
| HEPTEM-CT, sec, median (IQR) | 188 (180–203) | 179 (173–191) | 182 (175–199) | 0.089 | ||
IQR interquartile range, APTT activated partial thromboplastin time, INR international normalized ratio