Evaluation of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation in recovered COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Aim: In our study, we aimed to evaluate the endothelial functions and hemogram parameters, which are considered as inflammation markers, in young people with a history of COVID-19 infection. Methods: This prospective study included 109 recovered COVID-19 patients and 50 healthy controls. Demographic characteristics, laboratory values and flow-mediated vasodilation test (FMD) results of the groups were compared. Results: Demographic and biochemistry parameters of the groups were similar. The calculated FMD values were significantly lower in the recovered COVID-19 patient group compared to the control group (8.66±3.31 vs 11.69±3.01; p= 0.001). While there was no difference between the groups in terms of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Platelet/Lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) was found to be higher in the patient group with recovered COVID-19 patients (p = 0.02). In correlation analysis, there was a low moderate negative correlation between FMD and SII (r = -0.35, p=0.002). Conclusion: FMD measurement and SII are simple, easily accessible parameters that can be useful in the early period to evaluate cardiovascular risks in the long term after COVID-19. There is a need for larger and multicenter studies on this subject.