We aimed to report clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection referred for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) during the peak of the pandemic in France. We included all consecutive patients referred for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or NSTEMI during the first 3 weeks of April 2020 in 5 university hospitals (Paris, south and north of France), all performing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The study included 237 patients (67±14, 69% of male), 116 (49%) with STEMI and 121 (51%) with NSTEMI. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 associated ACS was 11% (n=26) and 11 patients had severe hypoxemia on presentation (mechanical ventilation or nasal oxygen >6L/min). Patients were comparable regarding medical history and risk factors, except a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus in SARS-CoV-2 patients (53.8% vs 25.6%, p=0.003). In SARS-CoV-2 patients, cardiac arrest on admission was more frequent (26.9% vs. 6.6%, p<0.001). The presence of significant coronary artery disease and culprit artery occlusion in SARS-CoV-2 patients, was 92% and 69.4% for STEMI, 50% and 15.5% for NSTEMI. PCI was performed in the same percentage of STEMI (84.6%) and NSTEMI (84.8%) cases, regardless of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but no-reflow (19.2% vs. 3.3%, p<0.001) was greater in SARS-CoV-2 patients. In-hospital death occurred in 7 SARS-CoV-2 patients (5 from cardiac cause) and was higher compared to non-infected patients (26.9% vs 6.2%, p<0.001) In this registry, ACS in SARS-CoV-2 patients presented with high percentage of cardiac arrest on admission, high incidence of no-reflow and high in-hospital mortality.

Randomized studies showed that Dobutamine and Levosimendan have similar impact on outcome but their combination has never been assessed in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) with low cardiac output. This is a retrospective, single-center study that included 89 patients (61 ± 15 years) admitted for ADHF requiring inotropic support. The first group consisted of patients treated with dobutamine alone (n = 42). In the second group, levosimendan was administered on top of dobutamine, when the superior vena cava oxygen saturation (ScVO2) remained 60%) was reached in 36% and 32% of patients in the dobutamine and dobutamine-levosimendan group, respectively. After adding levosimendan, 72% of the dobutamine-levosimendan-group reached the ScVO2 target value at dobutamine weaning. At six months, 42 (47%) patients experienced MACE (n = 29 for death). MACE was less frequent in the dobutamine-levosimendan (32%) than in the dobutamine-group (64%, p = 0.003). Independent variables associated with outcome were admission systolic blood pressure and dobutamine-levosimendan strategy (OR = 0.44 (0.23–0.84), p = 0.01). In conclusion, levosimendan added to dobutamine may improve the outcome of ADHF refractory to dobutamine alone.

A patient with severe, symptomatic functional mitral regurgitation was initially considered not suitable for MitraClip (Abbott Vascular, Abbott Park, Illinois) implantation because of non-coapting mitral leaflets. Repeated levosimendan infusions in combination with intensive diuresis induced sufficient valve coaptation, thus allowing MitraClip implantation to be performed. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.)