Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Quality in Italy: A Nationwide Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: International guidelines advise improving esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) quality in Western countries, where gastric cancer is still diagnosed in advanced stages. This nationwide study investigated some indicators for the quality of EGD performed in endoscopic centers in Italy. METHODS: Clinical, endoscopic, and procedural data of consecutive EGDs performed in one month in the participating centers were reviewed and collected in a specific database. Some quality indicators before and during endoscopic procedures were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 3,219 EGDs performed by 172 endoscopists in 28 centers were reviewed. Data found that some relevant information (family history for GI cancer, smoking habit, use of proton pump inhibitors) were not collected before endoscopy in 58.5-80.7% of patients. Pre-endoscopic preparation for gastric cleaning was routinely performed in only 2 (7.1%) centers. Regarding the procedure, sedation was not performed in 17.6% of patients, and virtual chromoendoscopy was frequently (>75%) used in only one (3.6%) center. An adequate sampling of the gastric mucosa (i.e., antral and gastric body specimens) was heterogeneously performed, and it was routinely performed only by 23% of endoscopists, and in 14.3% centers. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis showed that the quality of EGD performed in clinical practice in Italy deserves to be urgently improved in different aspects.

A multicenter survey on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography during the COVID-19 pandemic in northern and central Italy.

Background and study aims COVID-19 has dramatically impacted endoscopy practice because upper endoscopy procedures can be aerosol-generating. Most elective procedures have been rescheduled. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is frequently performed in emergency or urgent settings in which rescheduling is not possible. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ERCP in Italy during the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown, in areas with high incidence of COVID-19. Patients and methods We performed a retrospective survey of centers performing ERCP in high COVID-19 prevalence areas in Italy to collect information regarding clinical data from patients undergoing ERCP, staff, case-volume and organization of endoscopy units from March 8, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Results We collected data from 31 centers and 804 patients. All centers adopted a triage and/or screening protocol for SARS-CoV-2 and performed follow-up of patients 2 weeks after the procedure. ERCP case-volume was reduced by 44.1 % compared to the respective 2019 timeframe. Of the 804 patients undergoing ERCP, 22 (2.7 %) were positive for COVID-19. Adverse events occurred at a similar rate to previously published data. Of the patients, endoscopists, and nurses, 1.6 %, 11.7 %, and 4.9 %, respectively, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at follow up. Only 38.7 % of centers had access to a negative-pressure room for ERCP. Conclusion The case-volume reduction for ERCP during lockdown was lower than for other gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. No definitive conclusions can be drawn about the percentage of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients and healthcare workers observed after ERCP. Appropriate triage and screening of patients and adherence to society recommendations are paramount.

Organizational determinants of hospital stay: establishing the basis of a widespread action on more efficient pathways in medical units.

Given the high hospital costs, the increasing clinical complexity and the overcrowding of emergency departments, it is crucial to improve the efficiency of medical admissions. We aimed at isolating organizational drivers potentially targetable through a widespread improvement action. We studied all medical admissions in a large tertiary referral hospital from January 1st to December 31st, 2018. Data were retrieved from the administrative database. Available information included age, sex, type (urgent or elective) and Unit of admission, number of internal transfers, main ICD-9 diagnosis, presence of cancer among diagnoses, surgical or medical code, type of discharge, month, day and hour of admission and discharge. National Ministry of Health database was used for comparisons. 8099 admissions were analyzed. Urgent admissions (80.5% of the total) were responsible for longer stays and were the object of the multivariate analysis. The variables most influencing length-of-stay (LOS) were internal transfers and assisted discharge: they contributed, respectively, to 62% and 40% prolongation of LOS. Also, the daily and weekly kinetics of admission accounted for a significant amount of variation in LOS. Long admissions (≥ 30 days) accounted for the 15.5% of total bed availability. Type of discharge and internal transfers were again among the major determinants. A few factors involved in LOS strictly depend on the organizational environment and are potentially modifiable. Re-engineering should be focused on making more efficient internal and external transitions and at ensuring continuity of the clinical process throughout the day and the week.