Speakers

Biography

Egle Kalinauskiene, Prof., MD, PhD. Female; b. Kaunas, Lithuania, Aug. 29, 1963; d. Bronius Bernatonis and Birute Stanislava Bernatoniene; m. Egidijus Kalinauskas, Aug. 25, 1994, changed the name from Egle Bernatonyte to Egle Kalinauskiene; children: Ringaudas Kalinauskas, Ringaile Kalinauskaite. I graduated from Kaunas 12^th School with the Gold Medal in 1981; MD, 1987; PhD, 1993; Kaunas U. Medicine. Pedagogic professor name, Lithuanian U. Health Sciences, 2020. Cardiologist practice license, 1993; non-interventional electrophysiologist certification, 1997. Echocardiographist certification, 2001. Physician-intern, Vilnius U. Santariskiu Hosp., 1987-88; physician, Vilnius 5^th Outpatient Clinic, 1988-89; rschr., Inst. Cardiology, Kaunas U. Medicine, 1989-2009; physician-cardiologist, Cordelectro Outpatient Clinic, 1993-2001; consulting physician-cardiologist, Vilkaviskis Hosp., 2001-3; physician-cardiologist, Lithuanian U. Health Sciences Kaunas Hosp., 2003, (current); lectr., 2004, assoc. prof., 2008, Kaunas U. Medicine; prof., Dept. Internal  Medicine, Lithuanian U. Health Sciences, 2015, (current). Author, articles to profl. jours., student textbooks; presentations in international scientific conferences; inculcated rationalization, 1997. Award of Lithuanian Government “Talented Young Researcher”, 1998; Award “Physician of the Year”, Lithuanian Association of Health Promoting Hospitals, 2009. Director of sponsored by 3M research, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01665820. Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Electrocardiology (Official Journal of the International Society for Computerized Electrocardiology and the International Society of Electrocardiology), 2005, (current). Member, Lithuanian and International Societies of Cardiology, Lithuanian Society of Physicians.

Abstract

Changes in electrocardiograms (ECGs) have been observed in patients with COVID-19, though there is a lack of data compared with their previous ECGs. Our main aim was to identify the most common new ECG changes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A retrospective study included 30 consecutive adults hospitalized at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Hospital with COVID-19 confirmed by detection of viral RNA by real-time PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs from March until December 2020. Clinical and ECG data on admission to the hospital and during hospitalization were analyzed and compared with ECGs of the same patients obtained from family physicians before the infection. Results: All patients had ECGs on admission, 20%-repeated during hospitalization too, in 63.3% the comparison with previous ECGs was possible. Mean age was 68.7±15 (standard deviation), 56.7% were female. Most frequent comorbidities: 83.3% were hypertensive, 23.3% had dyslipidemia, 20%-diabetes, and 7% had no comorbidities. During hospitalization, pneumonia had 86.7% of patients. Three patients died. Levogram was on admission in 50%, prolonged QRS duration–36.7%, increased heart rate–23.3%, inverted T-waves–16.7%, atrial fibrillation–10% (two of three cases were diagnosed previously), additionally 3.3% later during hospitalization. There was a significant difference between heart rate (median 66 vs 83 bpm, p<0.05) and QTc interval (mean 424±27.7 vs 445±23.8 ms, p<0.05) before the infection and on admission. Their increase and prolonged QRS duration (15.8% of patients, but insignificant increase) were the most frequent new ECG changes. Conclusions: Most patients developed pneumonia, and their heart rate and QTc interval increased.