Takotsubo Syndrome a Rare Entity in COVID-19: a Systemic Review—Focus on Biomarkers, Imaging, Treatment, and Outcome

Takotsubo syndrome(TTS) is attributed to catecholamine surge, which is also observed in COVID-19 disease due to the cytokine storm. We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials retrospectively to identify COVID-19-associated TTS case reports and evaluated patient-level demographics, laboratory markers clinical attributes, treatment given, and outcomes. There are 27 cases reported of TTS associated with COVID-19 infection of which 44.5% were male. Reported median age was 57 years (IQR: 39–65) and 62.95 years (IQR: 50.5–73.5) in case series and individual patients’ cases in database, respectively. The time interval from the symptom onset to TTS diagnosis was median 6.5 days (IQR: 1.0–8.0) in case series and 6.7 days (IQR: 4–10) in individual patients’ database. The median LVEF was 36% (IQR: 35–37) and 38.15%(IQR: 30–42.5%—[male: 40.33% (IQR: 33–44.2)] and female [37.15% (IQR: 30–40)] in case series and individual-patients’ database, respectively. Troponin was elevated in all patients except one patient. 77.2% patients of TTS with COVID-19 had an elevated C-reactive protein and/or D-dimer. Twelve out of 22 (54.5%) patients developed cardiac complication such as cardiogenic-shock, atrial fibrillation, acute heart failure, supraventricular tachycardia, and biventricular heart failure. Nineteen out of 26 (73.07%) patients were discharged, and three were hospitalized due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ongoing maternal age. There were 4 (14.8%) mortality. There was no major gender difference observed in development of TTS in COVID-19 unlike COVID-19 per se. Older median age group for TTS in COVID-19 patients irrespective of cardiovascular comorbidities and gender probably reflects age as an independent risk factor. Patients who developed TTS had higher mortality rate especially if they developed cardiogenic shock.