Key result
IV dexamethasone terminates a life-threatening VF storm in a COVID-19 patient with suspected myocarditis.
Why the study?
Cardiac arrhythmias frequently complicate COVID-19, and managing life-threatening arrhythmias like ventricular fibrillation storm requires identifying causes arising from direct cardiac involvement, systemic consequences, or drug interactions.
Does steroid therapy improve ventricular fibrillation storm in a patient with COVID-19?
Case Report (n=1)
No
Does steroid therapy improve ventricular fibrillation storm in a patient with COVID-19?
Steroid therapy may help control ventricular fibrillation storm in COVID-19 patients by reducing fulminant inflammation.
May inform refractory VF management in COVID-19; hypothesis-generating case report that should not yet change practice.
Cardiac arrhythmias are common in patients of COVID -19 and frequently complicate the clinical course of critically ill patients. Life threatening arrhythmia including ventricular fibrillation less common but are reported to be more common in patients with elevated cardiac troponins. The mechanisms of arrhythmia in COVID 19 are multifactorial and arise from either direct cardiac involvement, from consequences systemic affection or drug interactions. The successful management requires correct identification of the cause. We report a case of VF storm in a patient with COVID 19 who responded to steroid therapy. Controlling the fulminant inflammation may reduce the burden of arrhythmia in appropriate cases.
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Kumar et al. (2021) conducted a case report in COVID-19 with ventricular fibrillation storm (n=1). Intravenous dexamethasone was evaluated on Cessation of ventricular fibrillation episodes.
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