Unexpected arterial thrombosis and acute limb ischemia in COVID-19 patients. Results from the Ibero-Latin American acute arterial thrombosis registry in COVID-19: (ARTICO-19)

• Published in: Vascular
• Main Authors: Gonzalez-Urquijo, Mauricio, Gonzalez-Rayas, Jose Manuel, Castro-Varela, Alejandra, Hinojosa-Gonzalez, David E, Ramos-Cazares, Ray Erick, Vazquez-Garza, Eduardo, Paredes-Vazquez, Jose Gildardo, Castillo-Perez, Mauricio, Jerjes-Sanchez, Carlos, Fabiani, Mario Alejandro
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2021
• Subjects: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine; Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging; General Medicine; Surgery; artico
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17085381211052033; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/17085381211052033; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/17085381211052033

Objective Few studies have focused on arterial thrombosis and acute limb ischemia in COVID-19. This international registry intended to study the spectrum of clinical characteristics, therapeutic trends, and outcomes in a cohort of Ibero-Latin American patients with arterial thrombosis or acute limb ischemia and COVID-19. Methods Data were retrospectively obtained from 21 centers in 9 countries. Patients with proven COVID-19 and asymptomatic or symptomatic arterial thrombosis were included. COVID-19 diagnosis was established by RT-PCR assay or IgM serology plus suggestive clinical/radiographical findings. We recorded and analyzed variables related to demography, clinical presentation, therapeutic trends, and outcomes. Results Eighty one patients were included in the registry. In 38.3%, acute limb ischemia symptoms were the first manifestation of COVID-19. Non-surgical management was more frequent in severe cases than surgical interventions, 11.1% vs. 88.9%, respectively ( p = 0.004). Amputation rates were similar between all COVID severity groups ( p = 0.807). Treatment was classified as non-surgical, open surgical, and endovascular treatment. Further analysis revealed an equal frequency of major leg amputation between treatment groups and increased mortality in patients with non-surgical management. However, multivariate regression analysis showed that treatment choices are associated with disease severity, with significant non-surgical treatment in critical patients; thus, mortality is related to the severity and confounds treatment analysis. Conclusion Arterial thrombosis can be the initial symptom of a patient presenting with COVID-19. Physicians and health workers should potentially suspect COVID-19 in acute ischemia cases without a known risk factor or embolic cause. More experimental and clinical research is required to understand the complex phenomenon of arterial COVID-19 induced coagulopathy fully.