Coagulopathy in cardiac surgery in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

Patients with concomitant cardiovascular diseases and traditional cardiovascular risk factors (age, male gender, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity) belong to a particularly vulnerable cohort characterized by progressive severe COVID-19 and high hospital mortality. Thorough screening strategies, standardized guidelines, and center-level protocols are needed to identify patients who are at greater risk of postoperative complications and mortality. Therefore, in this review, we consider the possible impact of COVID-19 on the patency of bypass vessels in the coronary arteries, mainly in relation to venous shunts. However, this hypothesis needs to be confirmed and further studied in the framework of clinical randomized trials.