[SICI-GISE Position paper on the standards of cardiac catheterization laboratories in Italy: qualitative and quantitative standards of the Nurses and Allied Professionals Group]. / Documento di posizione SICI-GISE sugli standard dei laboratori di diagnostica e interventistica cardiovascolare: le professioni sanitarie del comparto standard qualitativi e quantitativi.

This document aims to be an integral part of the SICI-GISE position document on standards and guidelines for cardiovascular diagnostic intervention laboratories published in October 2015. It was created with the aim of defining quality and quantitative standards by providing practical support for the structuring of a training course to reach high levels of assistance for nursing and technical personnel working within the catheterization laboratories. The competences detected are the expression of a highly specialized organizational and operational reality that combines technicality with a well-defined clinical assistance need as an expression of a real patient care. The Nurses & Technicians Area of SICI-GISE aimed at issuing a flexible and dynamic document based on technical and operational progress which, in addition to defining qualitative and quantitative standards, describes the underlying knowledge of the professionals of the sector operating in our laboratories. This is the first experience that, through a survey carried out in 2015, has been able to decline qualitative and quantitative data so as to provide resources and skills for measuring and improving assistance outcomes.

Trends of percutaneous coronary intervention in Italy in the last 10 years.

AIMS: To study the trends in the use of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in Italy between 2005 and 2014. METHODS: Publicly available data were obtained from the Italian Society of Invasive Cardiology (GISE), which organizes an annual audit of public and private cardiac catheterization laboratories. RESULTS: During the 10 years, more than 1.3 million PCIs were performed. The total number of PCIs per year increased by 23%, and reached 2342 procedures/million inhabitants in 2014: this was driven by a 91% increase in primary PCIs (PPCIs) for acute myocardial infarction, with the number of PPCIs/million inhabitants that nearly doubled from 291 to 536. Although the number of PCIs/million inhabitants was not homogeneously distributed over the country: even in 2014, it was higher in northern regions (2545) than in central (2229) or southern Italy and the islands (2138). CONCLUSION: The number of PCIs performed in Italy has steadily grown over the last decade. The trend was driven by a striking increase in the number of PPCIs for patients with acute myocardial infarction. The increase in the number of PCIs/million inhabitants was higher in northern Italy.

[SICI-GISE position paper on standards and guidelines for diagnostic and catheterization laboratories]. / Documento di posizione SICI-GISE sugli standard e linee guida per i laboratori di diagnostica e interventistica cardiovascolare.

In the last few years, the activity of cath labs has undergone some notable changes, at present largely focusing on diagnosis and invasive therapy of a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases. Technological and pharmacological advances have allowed for procedures to be performed in patients who are increasingly complex, and cath labs have become the preferred venue for endovascular treatment of coronary artery disease, in particular acute coronary syndrome, as well as the treatment of structural heart disease and peripheral vascular disease. This position paper is an update of the 1996 and 2008 versions, given the present level of experience and the situation in Italy. It aims to provide the quality standards required to maintain adequate conditions of know-how and safety, as well as the structural and organizational requirements that are fundamental to obtain the best possible use of human and technological resources. Position papers should be a stimulus and guide for operators in the field as well as for those who govern health policies. This should allow for an improved and more rational allocation of cath labs in Italy, based on the real need for procedures and an optimal distribution and organization of the cardiovascular emergency networks while respecting the minimum standards of care.