Incidence and determinants of high-sensitivity troponin and natriuretic peptides elevation at admission in hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients

Background Myocardial involvement in the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia has been reported, though not fully characterized yet. The aim of the present study is to undertake a joint evaluation of hs-Troponin and natriuretic peptides (NP) in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods In this multicenter observational study, we analyzed data from n = 111 patients. Cardiac biomarkers subgroups were identified according to values beyond reference range. Results Increased hs-Troponin and NP were found in 38 and 56% of the cases, respectively. As compared to those with normal cardiac biomarkers, these patients were older, had higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and had more severe COVID-19 pneumonia by higher CRP and d -dimer and lower PaO2/FIO2. Two-dimensional echocardiography performed in a subset of patients ( n = 24) showed significantly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with elevated NP ( p = 0.02), whereas right ventricular systolic function (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion) was significantly reduced both in patients with high hs-Troponin and NP ( p = 0.022 and p = 0.03, respectively). Both hs-Troponin and NP were higher in patients with in-hospital mortality ( p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). On multivariable analysis, independent associations were found of hs-Troponin with age, PaO2/FIO2 and d -dimer ( B = 0.419, p = 0.001; B = − 0.212, p = 0.013; and B = 0.179, p = 0.037, respectively) and of NP with age and previous CVD ( B = 0.480, p