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Case report
COVID-19 cardiac injury and the use of colchicine
  1. Vanesa Anton-Vazquez1,
  2. Laura Byrne1,
  3. Lisa Anderson2 and
  4. Lisa Hamzah1
  1. 1Infection Care Group, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  2. 2Cardiology Department, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Vanesa Anton-Vazquez; v.anton-vazquez{at}nhs.net

Abstract

We report a case of cardiac injury in a 46-year-old man affected by COVID-19. The patient presented with shortness of breath and fever. ECG revealed sinus tachycardia with ventricular extrasystoles and T-wave inversion in anterior leads. Troponin T and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide were elevated. Transthoracic echocardiography showed severely reduced systolic function with an estimated left ventricle ejection fraction of 30%. A nasopharingeal swab was positive for SARS-CoV-2. On day 6, 11 days after onset of symptoms, the patient deteriorated clinically with new chest pain and type 1 respiratory failure. Treatment with colchicine 0.5 mg 8-hourly resulted in rapid clinical resolution. This case report highlights how cardiac injury can dominate the clinical picture in COVID-19 infection. The role of colchicine therapy should be further studied to determine its usefulness in reducing myocardial and possibly lung parenchymal inflammatory responses.

  • COVID-19
  • drugs and medicines
  • cardiovascular medicine

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-241047

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors VA-V, LH, LA and LB participated in the management of the patient. VA-V and LH reviewed the literature and VA-V drafted the manuscript. All the authors were involved in the production of the final edit and have approved the manuscript submitted.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.