Total Severity Score (TSS) comparison in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients during the fourth wave (December 2021 - January 2022) of COVID-19 in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims at comparing the severity score assessed using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in vaccinated and unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From the first of December 2021 to first of February 2022, we conducted a single-center retrospective analysis on COVID-19 patients who accessed ED services. The hospital in question is a level II facility with a catchment area of around 200,000 people. According to the Italian recommendations, patients were divided into four groups based on the CT score of Micheal Chung. The sum of acute inflammatory lung lesions involving each lobe was scored as 1 (0-25%), 2 (26-50%), 3 (51-75%) or 4 (76-100%) on a visual quantitative assessment of CT. The total severity score (TSS) was determined by summing the five lobe scores. RESULTS: The study included 134 patients divided into two groups: 67 vaccinated and 67 unvaccinated people. 53 people had incomplete (single dose/double dose) immunization, while 14 people completed the vaccination cycle. It was discovered that the mean CT severity score was lower in fully vaccinated patients compared to partially vaccinated or unvaccinated patients. The mean CT score was significantly lower in fully vaccinated patients aged 60 compared to older patients. The mean CT score was higher in unvaccinated patients compared to fully vaccinated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals who received three doses of COVID-19 vaccination had lower CT severity scores than patients who received only one dose of vaccine or no vaccines at all.

Evaluation of myocardial perfusion and function by technetium-99m methoxy isobutyl isonitrile before and after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Preliminary results.

Myocardial perfusion and function were evaluated with Tc-99m MIBI myocardial scintigraphy before and after percutaneous angioplasty in six patients. In addition to conventional stress-rest images (3 projections: 45 degrees left anterior oblique, anterior, and left lateral), gated images were obtained at rest and during stress before and after angioplasty. Improvement in myocardial perfusion after angioplasty was demonstrated in all patients. The increase from rest to stress of radionuclide fractional shortening (an index of global left ventricular function computed on gated images) was greater after angioplasty than before (9% +/- 7% versus--0.5% +/- 8%, respectively, p < 0.05). Systolic wall thickening (an index of regional left ventricular function) showed a significantly greater rest-to-stress increase after angioplasty than before it in the regions supplied by treated vessels. Thus, Tc-99m MIBI myocardial scintigraphy is capable of evaluating myocardial perfusion and function.

[Left ventricular systolic and diastolic asynchronism in patients with ischemic cardiopathy: its effects on ventricular filling]. / Asincronia sistolica e diastolica del ventricolo sinistro nei pazienti con cardiopatia ischemica: influenze sul riempimento ventricolare.

To assess whether left ventricular asynchrony would influence filling in coronary artery disease, 27 patients with coronary artery disease and 39 normal subjects were studied by rest radionuclide angiography. Lower ejection fraction and peak filling rate were found in the coronary artery disease group (56% +/- 17% versus 65% +/- 6%, p less than 0.05; 1.8 +/- 0.7 versus 2.9 +/- 1.4 end-diastolic volumes/s, p less than 0.05). Moreover, the patients with coronary artery disease had a prolonged isovolumic relaxation period (114 +/- 86 ms versus 70 +/- 43 ms, p less than 0.05). Two indices of left ventricular asynchrony were evaluated: the coefficient of variation of regional time to end-systole, and the coefficient of variation of regional time to peak filling rate. The coefficient of variation of regional time to peak filling rate was higher in the coronary artery disease group (10.1% +/- 10%) than in the normal subjects (6.2% +/- 3.7%, p less than 0.05). Both these parameters were inversely related to global peak filling rate in the coronary artery disease group. These findings suggest that in patients with coronary artery disease left ventricular systolic and diastolic asynchrony plays a role in determining left ventricular diastolic properties.

[Myocardial scintigraphy with technetium 99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile. A comparison with coronary arteriography in patients with suspected ischemic cardiopathy]. / La scintigrafia miocardica con tecnezio 99m metossi-isobutil-isonitrile. Confronto con l'arteriografia coronarica nei pazienti con sospetta cardiopatia ischemica.

Technetium-99m methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (MIBI) myocardial scintigraphy has been proposed as an alternative to Thallium 201 myocardial imaging in the evaluation of patients with coronary artery diseases. We studied 39 patients (37 men, mean age 56 +/- 9 years) with suspected coronary artery disease. All patients underwent 99mTc MIBI myocardial scintigraphy after stress and at rest. Coronary arteriography, performed within 1 month, showed significant (greater than or equal to 50%) stenosis of at least 1 epicardial coronary artery in 36 subjects. 99mTc MIBI myocardial scintigraphy exhibited 94% sensitivity (34/36 patients) and 100% specificity (3/3 subjects with normal coronary arteries). Sensitivity for individual vessel stenosis was 81% (96% for the left anterior descending artery, 65% for the circumflex artery and 79% for the right artery). Our data show that 99mTc MIBI myocardial scintigraphy is capable of evaluating patients with coronary artery diseases.