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Study objectives: To assess whether echocardiography, systematically performed, could help in risk stratifying patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to SARS-CoV2 (COVID) infection for non invasive ventilation (NIV) failure. Design: Observational single center investigation. Setting: Intensive care unit. Interventions: Echocardiography. Outcome measures: NIV failure. Main results: Seventy-five patients were included in our study. In respect to patients who did not need mechanical ventilation (NIV success), those in the NIV failure subgroup (31 patients, 41 %) were older, with more comorbidities and showed a higher SOFA score and LOS. Higher values of NTpro BNP, CRP and D-dimer were observed in the NIV failure subgroup who exhibited a higher ICU mortality rate. At echocardiographic examination, the NIV failure subgroup showed higher values of RV/LV ratio, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP) and lower values of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE)/SPAP, and PaO2/FiO2. At logistic regression analysis TAPSE/sPAP resulted an independent predictor of NIV failure. At receiving operating characteristic curve analysis, the TAPSE/SPAP cut-off of 0.575 mm/mm Hg showed a sensitivity of 97 % and a specificity of 48 %. Conclusions: Our results documented a marked uncoupling of right ventricular function from the pulmonary circulation (as indicated by TAPSE/sPAP) in COVID-related ARDS treated with non invasive ventilation and the measurement of this parameter, performed on ICU admission, provides independent prognostic relevance for NIV failure.