Introduction:

SARS-CoV-2 was unknown until the outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the ultra-structural characteristics of this virus with predisposition to receptors expressed in type II pneumocytes (CD209L and ECA2), results in diffuse alveolar damage and a third of the patients with SARS-CoV-2 meet criteria for SIRA with severe hypoxemia. After the severe course of the disease and high mortality, the association of DD with severe cases was reported in studies and attributed to the prothrombotic state of the disease, directly contributing to prolonged mechanical ventilation and death.

Main objective:

To determine the different levels of DD in the presence of severe hypoxemia in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia admitted to intensive care.

Material and methods:

Cross-sectional retrospective single-center study, records of patients older than 18 years who were admitted to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia were reviewed; DD values on admission, on the seventh day and the PaO2/FiO2 ratio of arterial blood gases were considered. We defined severe hypoxemia PaO2/FiO2 less than 150 mmHg and after the Mann-Whitney U test, DD levels, ROC curve and AUC were evaluated for the DD cohort point and the association with oxygen supply therapy and its outcome with OR and HF 95%.

Results:

Records of 82 patients were studied, 81.7% presented severe hypoxemia on admission, and 74.4% on the seventh day; A median DD of 1,410 ng/mL was reported with severe hypoxemia and 2,238 ng/mL on the seventh day (p = 0.001). ROC curve found DD 1,500 ng/mL as a cohort point associated with severe hypoxemia (AUC: 0.808, 95% CI 0.706-0.910). On prognostic scales I report a higher score, APACHE II (24 pts, p = 0.036), SOFA (12 pts, p = 0.012), and SAPS II (67 pts, p ≤ 0.0001); as well as in deaths (81.6%, p ≤ 0.0001, OR 16.50 95% CI 5.472-49.80).

Conclusion:

DD greater than and/or equal to 1,500 ng/mL is associated with severe hypoxemia and higher mortality on the seventh day of stay in the ICU, indicating that DD is a potential early and useful marker to guide the therapy and evaluate the prognosis of the patient.

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