Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica | 2021
Acute pulmonary hypertension and short‐term outcomes in severe Covid‐19 patients needing intensive care
Abstract
Critically ill Covid‐19 pneumonia patients are likely to develop the sequence of acute pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular (RV) strain, and eventually RV failure due to known pathophysiology (endothelial inflammation plus thrombo‐embolism) that promotes increased pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary artery pressure. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of acute pulmonary hypertension (aPH) as per established trans‐thoracic echocardiography (TTE) criteria in Covid‐19 patients receiving intensive care and to explore whether short‐term outcomes are affected by the presence of aPH.