Abstract
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus
known to cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has affected more than 38 million
globally. Studies from around the world have reported cardiac dysrhythmias in patients
infected with COVID-19. A case-series from New York with 393 patients showed that
7.4% of patients had arrhythmias during their hospital stay. Specifically, patients who
received invasive mechanical ventilation were more likely to have atrial tachy-arrhythmias
(17.7%). A study from Italy found a statistically significant rise in out-of-hospital cardiac
arrests in 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019. Another case series with 187
COVID-19 patients from China, found that 27.8% of patients had myocardial injury, which
resulted in cardiac dysfunction and arrhythmias. Elevated troponin levels were associated
with more frequent ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. However, data
regarding significant bradycardia and cardiac pauses in critically ill COVID-19 patients
has not been reported.
Objective : To characterize significant cardiac pauses found in critically ill COVID-19
patients.
Method: A case series of 26 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 at Ochsner-
Louisiana State University hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. All study patients were
critically ill on mechanical ventilation or high flow oxygen by nasal cannula admitted to the
ICU and/or step-down ICU.
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