Objective To investigate the impact of COVID-19 infection on the early clinical outcomes of patients undergoing valve replacement. MethodsPerioperative data of patients who underwent single valve replacement at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army Medical University from January to February 2023 were consecutively collected. Based on COVID-19 infection status, patients were divided into a COVID-19 group and a non-COVID-19 group. General characteristics, comorbidities, operative time, aortic cross-clamp time, postoperative mechanical ventilation duration, ICU stay, myocardial enzyme profiles, and respiratory-related complications were compared between the two groups. The primary endpoint was the incidence of postoperative respiratory and circulatory complications, and the secondary endpoint was the postoperative myocardial enzyme profiles. ResultsA total of 136 patients were included, comprising 53 males and 83 females, with a mean age of (53.4±10.2) years. There were 32 aortic valve replacements, 102 mitral valve replacements, and 2 tricuspid valve replacements. No statistical difference was observed in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups [9.09% (6/66) vs. 11.43% (8/70), P=0.654]. However, the COVID-19 group had longer postoperative mechanical ventilation duration [1 201.00 (1 003.75, 1 347.75) min vs. 913.50 (465.50, 1 251.00) min, P=0.001] and ICU stay [3 (2, 3) days vs. 2 (2, 3) days, P<0.001] compared to the non-COVID-19 group. Additionally, troponin I [4.76 (2.55, 7.93) ng/mL vs. 2.66 (1.19, 5.65) ng/mL, P=0.001] and B-typenatriuretic peptide [608.50 (249.75, 1 150.00) pg/mL vs. 192.00 (100.93, 314.75) pg/mL, P<0.001] levels were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. ConclusionFor patients with single valve disease undergoing elective surgery, short-term outcomes after recovery from COVID-19 infection are favorable, with no significant increase in in-hospital mortality or postoperative complication rates.