Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on pulmonary hypertension out-patient clinics in Germany: a multi-centre study

Athiththan Yogeswaran; Henning Gall; Khodr Tello; Ekkehard Grünig; Panagiota Xanthouli; Ralf Ewert; Jan C Kamp; Karen M Olsson; Max Wißmüller; Stephan Rosenkranz; Hans Klose; Lars Harbaum; Tobias J Lange; Christian F Opitz; Andrea Waelde; Katrin Milger; Natascha Sommer; Werner Seeger; Hossein Ardeschir Ghofrani; Manuel J Richter

doi:10.1177/2045894020941682

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on pulmonary hypertension out-patient clinics in Germany: a multi-centre study

Pulm Circ. 2020 Jul 23;10(3):2045894020941682. doi: 10.1177/2045894020941682. eCollection 2020 Jul-Sep.

Authors

Athiththan Yogeswaran¹, Henning Gall¹, Khodr Tello¹, Ekkehard Grünig², Panagiota Xanthouli², Ralf Ewert³, Jan C Kamp^{4

5}, Karen M Olsson^{4

5}, Max Wißmüller⁶, Stephan Rosenkranz⁶, Hans Klose⁷, Lars Harbaum⁷, Tobias J Lange⁸, Christian F Opitz⁹, Andrea Waelde^{10

11}, Katrin Milger^{10

11}, Natascha Sommer¹, Werner Seeger^{1

12}, Hossein Ardeschir Ghofrani^{1

13}, Manuel J Richter¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Giessen, Germany.
² Centre for Pulmonary Hypertension at Thoraxklinik gGmbH at Heidelberg University Hospital, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Zentrum für Innere Medizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin B, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
⁵ Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease (BREATH) Hannover, German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, Germany.
⁶ Klinik III für Innere Medizin and Cologne Cardiovascular Research Center (CCRC), Herzzentrum der Universität zu Köln, Köln, Germany.
⁷ Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
⁸ Department of Internal Medicine II, Division of Pneumology, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
⁹ Department of Cardiology, DRK Kliniken Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Internal Medicine 5, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
¹¹ Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC-M), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany.
¹² Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Giessen, Germany.
¹³ Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension is frequently underdiagnosed, and referral is delayed with subsequent impact on outcomes. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, restrictions on daily life and changes in hospitals' daily routine care were introduced in Germany. This multi-centre study provides evidence for a negative influence of these restrictions on patient care in pulmonary hypertension expert referral centres.

Keywords: Covid-19; SARS-CoV-2; pulmonary hypertension.