Aim: The aim of the current study was to evaluate P-wave dispersion (PWD) as a predictor of atrial fibrillation in patients with newly diagnosed COVID-19. In addition, the relationship between the PWD and inflammation parameters was investigated.
Methods: A total of 140 newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients and 140 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were included in the study. The risk of atrial fibrillation was evaluated by calculating the electrocardiographic PWD. C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell, neutrophil and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were measured in patients with newly diagnosed COVID-19.
Results: PWD, white blood cell, NLR and CRP levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group than the control group. There was a significant positive correlation between PWD and CRP level (rs = 0.510, P < 0.001) and NLR in COVID-19 group (rs = 0.302, P = 0.001). In their follow-up, 13 (9.3%) patients, 11 of whom were in the ICU, developed new atrial fibrillation.
Conclusion: Our study showed for the first time in literature that the PWD, evaluated electrocardiographically in patients with newly diagnosed COVID-19, was prolonged compared with normal healthy individuals. A positive correlation was found between PWD, CRP level and NLR. We believe that pretreatment evaluation of PWD in patients with newly diagnosed COVID-19 would be beneficial for predicting atrial fibrillation risk.
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