INTRODUCTION: Patients with pre-existing respiratory diseases in the setting of COVID-19 may have a greater risk of severe complications and even death. METHODS: A retrospective, multicenter, cohort study with 5847 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals. Patients were separated in two groups, with/without previous lung disease. Evaluation of factors associated with survival and secondary composite end-point such as ICU admission and respiratory support, were explored. RESULTS: 1,271 patients (22%) had a previous lung disease, mostly COPD. All-cause mortality occurred in 376 patients with lung disease (29.5%) and in 819 patients without (17.9%) (p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed that patients with lung diseases had a worse 30-day survival (HR=1.78; 95%C.I. 1.58-2.01; p<0.001) and COPD had almost 40% mortality. Multivariable Cox regression showed that prior lung disease remained a risk factor for mortality (HR, 1.21; 95%C.I. 1.02-1.44; p=0.02). Variables independently associated with all-cause mortality risk in patients with lung diseases were oxygen saturation less than 92% on admission (HR, 4.35; 95% CI 3.08-6.15) and elevated D-dimer (HR, 1.84; 95% CI 1.27-2.67). Age younger than 60 years (HR 0.37; 95% CI 0.21-0.65) was associated with decreased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: Previous lung disease is a risk factor for mortality in patients with COVID-19. Older age, male gender, home oxygen therapy, and respiratory failure on admission were associated with an increased mortality. Efforts must be done to identify respiratory patients to set measures to improve their clinical outcomes.

Background It remains unknown whether the presence of coronary microcirculatory dysfunction (CMD) correlates with its equivalent condition in the brain, cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). The cerebral-coronary connection (C3), a prospective blinded study, investigated the prevalence of CMD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and its association with CSVD and cognitive function. Methods and results Patients with documented CAD fulfilling inclusion criteria underwent physiological assessment of epicardial vessels and the microcirculation using intracoronary pressure and Doppler. Coronary microcirculation-related indices included coronary flow reserve (CFR) and hyperaemic microvascular resistance. Brain magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial Doppler (TCD), and neurocognitive examination were performed. Overall, 67 patients were included in the study (mean age 66 years, 73% female). Patients with abnormal CFR (&lt;2.0) (55.2%) showed higher burden of white-matter hyperintensities: 43.2 vs. 20.0% (P = 0.044). After statistical adjustment, low CFR was associated with lower grey matter volume (P = 0.024) and with parameters of white-matter microstructural damage in diffusion-tensor imaging (lower fractional anisotropy and higher mean diffusivity, P = 0.029 and P = 0.032, respectively). Low CFR was associated with higher resistive (P = 0.027) and pulsatility (P = 0.043) values on TCD, and worse neurocognitive test scores (lower mini mental state examination, P = 0.025, and slower Trail Making Test A, P = 0.034). Conclusions Coronary microcirculatory dysfunction is frequent in patients with CAD and correlates with CSVD, abnormal cerebral flow haemodynamics, and significant cognitive impairment. These findings support the hypothesis that microvascular dysfunction in the heart and the brain are part of a single pathological process affecting microcirculation in patients with CAD. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04131075.

Objectives To identify predictors of poor prognosis in previously healthy young individuals admitted with COVID-19. Methods We studied a cohort of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 disease. All patients without comorbidities, no usual treatments and ≤65 years old were selected from an international registry (HOPE-COVID-19, NCT04334291). We focused on baseline variables-symptoms and signs at admission-to analyze risk factors for poor prognosis. The primary endpoint was a composite of major adverse clinical events during hospitalization including mortality, mechanical ventilation, high flow nasal oxygen therapy, prone, sepsis , SIRS, and embolic events. Results Overall, 773 healthy young patients were included. The primary composite endpoint was observed in 29% (225/773) and the overall mortality rate was 3.6% (28/773). In the combined event group, 75% (168/225) of patients were men and the mean age was 49 (±11) years, whereas in the non-combined event group, the prevalence of male gender was 43% (238/548) and the mean age was 42 (±13) years; p<0.001 for both. On admission, respiratory insufficiency and cough were described in 51.4% (114/222), and 76% (170/223) of patients, respectively, in the combined event group, vs. 7.9% (42/533) and 56% (302/543) of patients in the other group; p<0.001 for both. The strongest independent predictor for the combined endpoint was desaturation (SpO2<92%) (OR: 5.40; CI95% 3.34-8.75; p<0.001), followed by tachypnea (OR: 3.17; CI95% 1.93-5.21; p<0.001), male gender (OR: 3.01; CI95% 1.96-4.61; p<0.001), and pulmonary infiltrates on chest X ray at admission (OR: 2.21; CI95% 1.18-4.16; p: 0.014). Conclusions Major adverse clinical events were unexpectedly high considering the baseline characteristics of the cohort. Signs of respiratory compromise at admission, and male gender, were predictive for poor prognosis among young healthy patients hospitalized with COVID-19.