Distinct Patterns of Clinical Features and Cardiac Biomarker Elevation in Community-Acquired Pneumonia and COVID-19 Pneumonia

No previous sub-Saharan studies have compared patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and COVID-19 pneumonia, the focus of this study. Consecutive adult patients hospitalized with CAP (n = 59) or COVID-19 pneumonia (n = 74) were compared regarding multiple characteristics, including cardiac biomarkers. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, differences were noted among various clinical features. Troponin I concentrations (p = 0.00028) and the Troponin I/NT-pro BNP ratio (p = 0.00048) were significantly higher in COVID-19 compared with CAP. After adjustment for age, these differences remained significant (troponin I p = 0.0019; ratio p = 0.00054), while BNP concentrations were now higher in CAP (p = 0.009). PCA demonstrated that BNP and NT-pro BNP contributed most strongly to the dominant cardiac biomarker signature, suggesting shared cardiopulmonary stress across both diseases. Exploratory subgroup analyses suggested higher troponin I levels among people living with HIV and COVID-19, although interaction modelling did not demonstrate significant effect modification by HIV status. Both CAP and COVID-19 pneumonia were associated with evidence of cardiac stress; however, COVID-19 demonstrated a relatively stronger myocardial injury signature characterized by higher troponin I concentrations and an increased Troponin I/NT-pro BNP ratio while CAP had evidence of greater hemodynamic cardiac strain, as evidenced by the higher levels of BNP. The findings suggest that the mechanisms of cardiac involvement may differ between viral and bacterial respiratory infections.