ABC Heart Fail Cardiomyop 2024; 4(2): 20240001

Heart Failure in Children and Adolescents with Covid-19: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Lucas Quaresma Martins , Gabriel Ribeiro de Souza , Daniel Garcia da Gama Alves , Kaylane Fernanda Costa de Melo , Paula Cordeiro Aguiar de Almeida , Ádria Rayane Lima Cascaes , Antonio Maria Zacarias Araújo Monteiro

DOI: 10.36660/abchf.20240001i

Abstract

Background:

Cardiovascular structural/functional changes caused by COVID-19 may be related to the presence of heart failure (HF), especially in children and adolescents, as the SARS-CoV-2 virus invades cardiomyocytes, leading to cardiac dysfunction.

Objective:

To assess the mechanism by which COVID-19 becomes a risk factor for the development of HF in children and adolescents.

Methods:

This was a systematic literature review of articles indexed in PubMed, BVS and SciELO, following the PRISMA recommendations. DeCS/MeSH descriptors were used in the search.

Results:

A total of 685 studies were identified: 418 in Pubmed, 264 in BVS and three in SciELO. After exclusion of 160 duplicate articles, and analysis of titles and abstracts, 14 articles were read in full, and 10 selected for the final sample. All articles were published between 2020 and 2022; there were 10 cohort studies (eight retrospective and two prospective). Six articles addressed the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), and four articles addressed the reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction in COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions:

Most patients recovered without cardiovascular sequelae, although MIS-C may cause severe systemic failure, which led to death in some studies. More research and more comprehensive studies on this theme are warranted.