This study aims to determine the rates of CVT and its impact on outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

De-identified patient information was extracted on March 1st, 2021 using the TriNetX COVID-19 Research Network platform (www.trinetx.com). This study was exempt by our institutional IRB as it consisted of global de-identified patient data. Patients of ≥ 18 years of age suffering from CVT with or without COVID-19, irrespective of their need for hospitalization, were identified. The baseline characteristics and co-morbidities were compared between the two groups using the TriNetX analytics statistical function.

We identified 667,551 COVID-19 patients of which 42 had CVT, and 65,796,480 non COVID-19 patients of which 1022 had CVT (0.0001 vs 0.000002, OR = 40.99 [95% CI = 30.11 - 55.81], p < 0.00001). Among the 42 COVID-19 patients with CVT, 24 (57.1%) were females and 28 (66.6%) were Caucasians. A significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (p = 0.0278) and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.0107) was observed in patients suffering from CVT with COVID-19 compared to the non COVID-19 cohort. A significantly higher mortality rate was observed in patients suffering from CVT with COVID-19 compared to the non COVID-19 cohort (11.9% vs 2.8%, OR = 4.627 [95% CI = 1.320–13.032], p = 0.0011).

The odds of developing CVT among COVID-19 patients in our study were 41 times higher than among non-COVID-19 patients. Our study also showed that the mortality from CVT is 4.6 times higher in COVID-19 patients than in the general population presumably due to underlying hypercoagulable state/systemic inflammation.