Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Aug 2021
Multicenter Study Observational StudyDetermining Which Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Require Urgent Echocardiography.
Patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) often have abnormal findings on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). However, although not all abnormalities on TTE result in changes in clinical management, performing TTE in recently infected patients increases disease transmission risks. It remains unknown whether common biomarker tests, such as troponin and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), can help distinguish in which patients with COVID-19 TTE may be safely delayed until infection risks subside. ⋯ Troponin and BNP were highly associated with urgent echocardiographic findings and may be used in triaging algorithms for determining in which patients TTE can be safely delayed until after their peak infectious window has passed.