Myocardial Injury on Admission as a Risk in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective in-ICU Study

•Myocardial injury is common in critically ill COVID-19 patients.•COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury are more likely to develop adverse events and fatal outcomes during the hospitalization.•Myocardial injury and advanced age (≥75 yrs old) are independent risk factors for 28-day in-ICU mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, clinical presentation, cardiovascular (CV) complications, and mortality risk of myocardial injury on admission in critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) inpatients with COVID-19. A single-center, retrospective, observational study. A newly built ICU in Tongji hospital (Sino-French new city campus), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Seventy-seven critical COVID-19 patients. Patients were divided into a myocardial injury group and nonmyocardial injury group according to the on-admission levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment, and clinical outcome were evaluated, stratified by the presence of myocardial injury on admission. Compared with nonmyocardial injury patients, patients with myocardial injury were older (68.4 ± 10.1 v 62.1 ± 13.5 years; p = 0.02), had higher prevalence of underlying CV disease (34.1% v 11.1%; p = 0.02), and in-ICU CV complications (41.5% v 13.9%; p = 0.008), higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores (20.3 ± 7.3 v 14.4 ± 7.4; p = 0.001), and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores (7, interquartile range (IQR) 5-10 v 5, IQR 3-6; p < 0.001). Myocardial injury on admission increased the risk of 28-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.200; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29 to 3.74; p = 0.004). Age ≥75 years was another risk factor for mortality (HR, 2.882; 95% CI 1.51-5.50; p = 0.002). Critically ill patients with COVID-19 had a high risk of CV complications. Myocardial injury on admission may be a common comorbidity and is associated with severity and a high risk of mortality in this population.