Abstract
Aim: It is a well-known fact that inflammation plays a crucial role in
many diseases including COVID-19. Using flow-mediated dilatation (FMD),
we aimed to compare the effects of inflammation on endothelial
dysfunction in patients with COVID-19 and the control group. Materials
and Methods: The present study was conducted on a total of 161
participants, of whom 80 were diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last 6
months (comprising 48 women and 32 men with a mean age of 32.10 ± 5.87
years) and 81 were healthy controls (comprising 45 women and 36 men with
a mean age of 30.51 ± 7.33 years). We analyzed the findings of
transthoracic echocardiography and FMD in all participants. Results:
Except for FMD, there was no statistically significant difference in
echocardiographic parameters. (9.52 ± 5.98 vs. 10.53 ± 6.31, p=0.010).
In multivariate analysis with the forward stepwise model, FMD was
significantly different in the control group compared to the COVID group
(1.086 (1.026 - 1.149), p=0.04). Spearman’s correlation test indicated
that FMD (r=0.27, p=0.006) had a significantly positive correlation with
the presence of COVID. A receiver operating curve analysis revealed that
an FMD value of <10.62% was capable of predicting the
presence of COVID with a sensitivity and specificity of 64% and 59%,
respectively (AUC=0.625, 95% CI, 0.538 - 0.711). Conclusion: The value
of FMD decreased significantly in COVID-19 patients compared to the
healthy subjects, which may be an early marker for COVID-19 induced
endothelial dysfunction. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, endothelial dysfunction,
flow-mediated dilatation (FMD