Introduction:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The risk of venous thrombotic events (VTE), which is increased in critically ill patients, is likely to be even higher in those with SARS-CoV-2 and critical illness.

Objectives:

To investigate the haemostatic profile by TEG in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Material and methods:

Observational, retrospective study of a single hospital centre. Patients hospitalised with a diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia were retrospectively enrolled and underwent thromboelastogram (TEG) at 24 and 72 hours. Bivariate analysis was performed, in which Student’s t-tests or Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for continuous and discrete quantitative variables. For categorical and nominal variables, Pearson’s χ2 test was used. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to determine the body mass index (BMI) cut-off point with the highest sensitivity and specificity in relation to the development of TEG alterations. Subsequently, a multivariate logistic binary regression analysis was performed, adjusted for variables with clinical and statistical significance. Statistical significance was established as a p < 0.05 or < 5%.

Results:

A total of 66 patients were included, a predominance of hypercoagulable profile was observed in 28 patients (42.4%) at 24 hours and 20 (30.3%) at 72 hours despite prophylactic doses of enoxaparin. To determine the cut-off point with the strongest association between BMI and the presence of TEG disorder, a ROC curve was performed, yielding an ABC of 64.7% (p = 0.003). We found an odds ratio (OR) of 1.8 for each kilogram of weight above a BMI > 26.2 kg/m2, for developing hypercoagulability.

Conclusion:

The high percentage of patients with hypercoagulable status and hyperfibrinogenemia could lead to an increase in fibrin formation and polymerisation that may predispose to thrombosis. The majority of the population in our setting is overweight or obese and therefore probably requires a higher anticoagulation regimen. Such a thromboprophylaxis scheme should not be guided by parameters such as dimer D but by a broader haemostatic profile test such as TEG.