Objective: Both ischemic heart diseases and COVID-19 are the two main patient groups who frequently apply to emergency clinics recently. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demographic and clinical processes in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single-center study was conducted on ACS patients who applied to emergency department between March 10, 2019 and March 11, 2021. While the patients were divided into two as pandemic and prepandemic, the pandemic period was also grouped as COVID (+) and (-). ACS classification, clinical and laboratory results of the patients were evaluated.
Results: The mean age of 1067 patients included in the study was 58.0±19.2 years and 785 (73.5%) were male. 262 (48.3%) of 542 cases in the pre-pandemic period were non-ST myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and 202 (37.3%) were ST elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI). Among the COVID(+) cases in the pandemic group, 194 (76.9%) of 252 patients were NSTEMI and 34 (13.6%) were STEMI (p=0.001, p=0.013). During the pandemic period, STEMI was responsible for 7 (87.5%) of the 8 deaths in the COVID(-) group. In contrast, 20 (77%) of 26 COVID (+) deaths occurred in the NSTEMI group. NSTEMI mortality was considerably greater in the COVID(+) group (p=0.001).
Conclusions: Rapid care of instances of acute coronary syndrome in the emergency department has an effect on patient outcomes. Determining the severity, risk factors, laboratory findings, and outcomes of COVID-19 disease is crucial for a complete understanding of the mechanisms that can induce acute coronary syndrome in SARS-CoV-2 infection and for the development of strategies to facilitate the diagnosis and transfer of treatment in these patients.
Key words: Emergency Department, COVID-19, acute coronary syndrome, mortality
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