Teaching Medical Students Rapid Ultrasound for shock and hypotension (RUSH): learning outcomes and clinical performance in a proof-of-concept study.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a critical diagnostic tool in various medical settings, yet its instruction in medical education is inconsistent. The Rapid Ultrasound for Shock and Hypotension (RUSH) protocol is a comprehensive diagnostic tool, but its complexity poses challenges for teaching and learning. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a single-day training in RUSH for medical students by assessing their performance in clinical scenarios. METHODS: In this prospective single-center observational proof-of-concept study, 16 medical students from Saarland University Medical Center underwent a single-day training in RUSH, followed by evaluations in clinical settings and on a high-fidelity simulator. Performance was assessed using a standardized scoring tool and time to complete the RUSH exam. Knowledge gain was measured with pre- and post-training written exams, and diagnostic performance was evaluated with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). RESULTS: Students demonstrated high performance in RUSH exam views across patients (median performance: 85-87%) and improved scanning times, although not statistically significant. They performed better on simulators than on live patients. Written exam scores significantly improved post-training, suggesting a gain in theoretical knowledge. However, more than a third of students could not complete the RUSH exam within five minutes on live patients. CONCLUSIONS: Single-day RUSH training improved medical students' theoretical knowledge and simulator performance but translating these skills to clinical settings proved challenging. The findings suggest that while short-term training can be beneficial, it may not suffice for clinical proficiency. This study underscores the need for structured and possibly longitudinal training programs to ensure skill retention and clinical applicability.

Strategies and tactics for the synthesis of lipid I and II and shortened analogues: functional building blocks of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis.

Covering: the literature up to 2022This study discusses various synthetic strategies for the synthesis of lipid II, the pivotal bacterial cell wall precursor. In detail, it examines different solution phase approaches, reviews various solid phase sequences, and evaluates enzymatic ventures. The underlying rationale, scope, limitations, and perspectives of these strategies are discussed. The focus is on the tactics and strategies towards the authentic peptidoglycan compound, as well as analogues thereof with shortened side chains, which are increasingly recognized as more beneficial surrogates with more favorable physicochemical properties.

Exhaled Aldehydes as Biomarkers for Lung Diseases: A Narrative Review.

Breath analysis provides great potential as a fast and non-invasive diagnostic tool for several diseases. Straight-chain aliphatic aldehydes were repeatedly detected in the breath of patients suffering from lung diseases using a variety of methods, such as mass spectrometry, ion mobility spectrometry, or electro-chemical sensors. Several studies found increased concentrations of exhaled aldehydes in patients suffering from lung cancer, inflammatory and infectious lung diseases, and mechanical lung injury. This article reviews the origin of exhaled straight-chain aliphatic aldehydes, available detection methods, and studies that found increased aldehyde exhalation in lung diseases.

Novel porcine model of Crohn's disease anastomotic stricture suitable for evaluation and training of advanced endoscopic techniques.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Currently, treatment options in postsurgical recurrence of stricturing Crohn's disease (CD) are limited. However, development of new invasive endoscopic techniques in clinical practice has safety constraints. The aim of this study was to create a large animal model of anastomotic stricture with CD properties to enable development of new techniques and training. METHODS: A side-to-side ileocolonic anastomosis was created in a modified Roux-en-Y manner with bowel continuity preserved. Two weeks after surgery, we began endoscopic submucosal injections of phenol/trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid solution. This solution was injected every 2 weeks in each quadrant of the anastomosis until development of a stricture. The anastomosis site was assessed endoscopically 2 weeks after the last application (baseline) and then every 2 months until month 6. Endoscopically nonpassable strictures were treated with balloon dilation, endoscopic stricturotomy, and stent placement to confirm the feasibility of such interventions. RESULTS: Nineteen minipigs were included with no postoperative adverse events. After a mean of 4.4 ± .7 injection sessions with 10.5 ± 3.0 mL of the solution, anastomotic strictures were created in 16 pigs (84.2%). Mean diameter of the strictures at baseline was 11.6 ± 2.2 mm. The strictures were inflamed, and the endoscope could not pass. Follow-up was successfully completed in 15 animals (79.0%) with the mean deviation from the initial diameter in every measurement of -.02 ± 2.26 mm (P = .963) and a mean final diameter of 11.7 ± 3.4 mm. The histopathologic evaluation revealed the presence of submucosal fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and microgranulomas. All strictures were amenable to endoscopic therapeutic interventions. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a novel, reproducible porcine model of anastomotic stricture with histologically verified changes mimicking CD and stable diameter for more than 6 months. It is suitable for further endoscopic interventions.

A novel postgraduate endoscopic course using a large animal model of secondary Crohn's disease stricture.

BACKGROUND: The increasing complexity of advanced endoscopic techniques places a high demand on the endoscopist's expertise. Thus, live porcine models have been more frequently used for training. We briefly describe a hands-on postgraduate endoscopic course regarding a novel method of treatment of anastomotic strictures in a porcine model. METHODS: The porcine model of Crohn's disease anastomotic stricture with two artificial side-to-side ileo-colonic anastomoses was used. Participants performed endoscopic stricturotomy under supervision at one of two equipped endoscopic stations. Available animals were endoscopically re-examined 3 months after the course. RESULTS: Twelve anastomoses were prepared for the course. Eleven circumferential stricturotomies together with horizontal cut and clip placement were conducted. All anastomoses were passable for the scope after the procedure, and no case of perforation or bleeding occurred. All anastomoses available for re-examination remained passable for the endoscope after 3 months. CONCLUSION: We successfully organised the first endoscopic hands-on course for the training of endoscopic stricturotomy on a large animal model.

Volutrauma Increases Exhaled Pentanal in Rats: A Potential Breath Biomarker for Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical ventilation injures lungs, but there are currently no reliable methods for detecting early injury. We therefore evaluated whether exhaled pentanal, a lipid peroxidation product, might be a useful breath biomarker for stretch-induced lung injury in rats. METHODS: A total of 150 male Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated in 2 substudies. The first randomly assigned 75 rats to 7 hours of mechanical ventilation at tidal volumes of 6, 8, 12, 16, and 20 mL·kg-1. The second included 75 rats. A reference group was ventilated at a tidal volume of 6 mL·kg-1 for 10 hours 4 interventional groups were ventilated at a tidal volume of 6 mL·kg-1 for 1 hour, and then for 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 hours at a tidal volume of 16 mL.kg-1 before returning to a tidal volume of 6 mL·kg-1 for additional 6 hours. Exhaled pentanal was monitored by multicapillary column-ion mobility spectrometry. The first substudy included cytokine and leukocyte measurements in blood and bronchoalveolar fluid, histological assessment of the proportion of alveolar space, and measurements of myeloperoxidase activity in lung tissue. The second substudy included measurements of pentanal in arterial blood plasma, cytokine and leukocyte concentrations in bronchoalveolar fluid, and cleaved caspase 3 in lung tissue. RESULTS: Exhaled pentanal concentrations increased by only 0.5 ppb·h-1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-0.6) when rats were ventilated at 6 mL·kg-1. In contrast, exhaled pentanal concentrations increased substantially and roughly linearly at higher tidal volumes, up to 3.1 ppb·h-1 (95% CI, 2.3-3.8) at tidal volumes of 20 mL·kg-1. Exhaled pentanal increased at average rates between 1.0 ppb·h-1 (95% CI, 0.3-1.7) and 2.5 ppb·h-1 (95% CI, 1.4-3.6) after the onset of 16 mL·kg-1 tidal volumes and decreased rapidly by a median of 2 ppb (interquartile range [IQR], 0.9-3.2), corresponding to a 38% (IQR, 31-43) reduction when tidal volume returned to 6 mL·kg-1. Tidal volume, inspiratory pressure, and mechanical power were positively associated with pentanal exhalation. Exhaled and plasma pentanal were uncorrelated. Alveolar space decreased and inflammatory markers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid increased in animals ventilated at high tidal volumes. Short, intermittent ventilation at high tidal volumes for up to 3 hours increased neither inflammatory markers in bronchoalveolar fluid nor the proportion of cleaved caspase 3 in lung tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Exhaled pentanal is a potential biomarker for early detection of ventilator-induced lung injury in rats.

Influence of weekday of admission and level of distress on length of hospital stay in patients with low back pain: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is often a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary management to address patients' multidimensional needs. Providing inpatient care for patients with LBP in primary care hospitals is a challenge. In this setting, interdisciplinary LBP management is often unavailable during weekends. Delays in therapeutic procedures may result in a prolonged length of hospital stay (LoS). The impact of delays on LoS might be strongest in patients reporting high levels of psychological distress. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of weekday of admission and distress on LoS of inpatients with LBP. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1 February 2019 and 31 January 2020. In part 1, a negative binomial model was fitted to LoS with weekday of admission as a predictor. In part 2, the same model included weekday of admission, distress level, and their interaction as covariates. Planned contrast was used in part 1 to estimate the difference in log-expected LoS between group 1 (admissions Friday/Saturday) and the reference group (admissions Sunday-Thursday). In part 2, the same contrast was used to estimate the corresponding difference in (per-unit) distress trends. RESULTS: We identified 173 patients with LBP. The mean LoS was 7.8 days (SD = 5.59). Patients admitted on Friday (mean LoS = 10.3) and Saturday (LoS = 10.6) had longer stays, but not those admitted on Sunday (LoS = 7.1). Analysis of the weekday effect and planned contrast showed that admission on Friday or Saturday was associated with a significant increase in LoS (log ratio = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.21 to 0.63). A total of 101 patients (58%) returned questionnaires, and complete data on distress were available from 86 patients (49%). According to the negative binomial model for LoS and the planned contrast, the distress effect on LoS was significantly influenced (difference in slopes = 0.816, 95% CI = 0.03 to 1.60) by dichotomic weekdays of admission (Friday/Saturday vs. Sunday-Thursday). CONCLUSIONS: Delays in interdisciplinary LBP management over the weekend may prolong LoS. This may particularly affect patients reporting high levels of distress. Our study provides a platform to further explore whether interdisciplinary LBP management addressing patients' multidimensional needs reduces LoS in primary care hospitals.

Quantification of Volatile Aldehydes Deriving from In Vitro Lipid Peroxidation in the Breath of Ventilated Patients.

Exhaled aliphatic aldehydes were proposed as non-invasive biomarkers to detect increased lipid peroxidation in various diseases. As a prelude to clinical application of the multicapillary column-ion mobility spectrometry for the evaluation of aldehyde exhalation, we, therefore: (1) identified the most abundant volatile aliphatic aldehydes originating from in vitro oxidation of various polyunsaturated fatty acids; (2) evaluated emittance of aldehydes from plastic parts of the breathing circuit; (3) conducted a pilot study for in vivo quantification of exhaled aldehydes in mechanically ventilated patients. Pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, and nonanal were quantifiable in the headspace of oxidizing polyunsaturated fatty acids, with pentanal and hexanal predominating. Plastic parts of the breathing circuit emitted hexanal, octanal, nonanal, and decanal, whereby nonanal and decanal were ubiquitous and pentanal or heptanal not being detected. Only pentanal was quantifiable in breath of mechanically ventilated surgical patients with a mean exhaled concentration of 13 ± 5 ppb. An explorative analysis suggested that pentanal exhalation is associated with mechanical power-a measure for the invasiveness of mechanical ventilation. In conclusion, exhaled pentanal is a promising non-invasive biomarker for lipid peroxidation inducing pathologies, and should be evaluated in future clinical studies, particularly for detection of lung injury.

Intertwined effects of climate and land use change on environmental dynamics and carbon accumulation in a mangrove-fringed coastal lagoon in Java, Indonesia.

The identification and quantification of natural carbon (C) sinks is critical to global climate change mitigation efforts. Tropical coastal wetlands are considered important in this context, yet knowledge of their dynamics and quantitative data are still scarce. In order to quantify the C accumulation rate and understand how it is influenced by land use and climate change, a palaeoecological study was conducted in the mangrove-fringed Segara Anakan Lagoon (SAL) in Java, Indonesia. A sediment core was age-dated and analyzed for its pollen and spore, elemental and biogeochemical compositions. The results indicate that environmental dynamics in the SAL and its C accumulation over the past 400 years were controlled mainly by climate oscillations and anthropogenic activities. The interaction of these two factors changed the lagoon's sediment supply and salinity, which consequently altered the organic matter composition and deposition in the lagoon. Four phases with varying climates were identified. While autochthonous mangrove C was a significant contributor to carbon accumulation in SAL sediments throughout all four phases, varying admixtures of terrestrial C from the hinterland also contributed, with natural mixed forest C predominating in the early phases and agriculture soil C predominating in the later phases. In this context, climate-related precipitation changes are an overarching control, as surface water transport through rivers serves as the "delivery agent" for the outcomes of the anthropogenic impact in the catchment area into the lagoon. Amongst mangrove-dominated ecosystems globally, the SAL is one of the most effective C sinks due to high mangrove carbon input in combination with a high allochthonous carbon input from anthropogenically enhanced sediment from the hinterland and increased preservation. Given the substantial C sequestration capacity of the SAL and other mangrove-fringed coastal lagoons, conservation and restoration of these ecosystems is vitally important for climate change mitigation.

Role of interventional inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biologic therapy: a position statement from the Global Interventional IBD Group.

Interventional (or therapeutic) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) endoscopy has an expanding role in the treatment of disease and surgical adverse events. Endoscopic therapy has been explored and used in the management of strictures, fistulas/abscesses, colitis-associated neoplasia, postsurgical acute or chronic leaks, and obstructions. The endoscopic therapeutic modalities include balloon dilation, stricturotomy, stent placement, fistulotomy, fistula injection and clipping, sinusotomy, EMR, and endoscopic submucosal dissection. With a better understanding of the disease course of IBD, improved long-term impact of medical therapy, and advances in endoscopic technology, we can foresee interventional IBD becoming an integrated part of the multidisciplinary approach to patients with complex IBD.

Discontinuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy in inflammatory bowel disease patients: a prospective observation.

BACKGROUND: Discontinuation of anti-TNF therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in remission remains a controversial issue. The aims of our study were to assess the proportion of patients who relapse after cessation of biological treatment, and to identify potential risk factors of disease relapse. METHODS: Consecutive IBD patients who discontinued anti-TNF therapy in steroid-free clinical and endoscopic remission were prospectively followed. Multiple logistic regression and Cox proportional-hazards models were used to assess the predictors of disease relapse. RESULTS: Seventy-eight IBD patients (Crohn's disease, CD 61; ulcerative colitis, UC 17) were included and followed for a median of 30 months (range 7-47). A total of 32 (53%) CD patients and nine (53%) UC patients relapsed by the end of the follow-up with a median time to relapse of 8 months (range 1-25) in CD patients and 14 months (range 4-37) in UC patients, respectively. The cumulative probabilities of maintaining remission at 6, 12, and 24 months were 82%, 59%, and 51% in CD patients, and 77%, 77%, and 64% in UC patients, respectively. Survival of CD patients who were in deep remission (clinical and endoscopic healing; faecal calprotectin <150 mg/kg; CRP ≤5 mg/l) was not better compared with those who did not fulfill these criteria. In multivariate models, only colonic CD protected patients from disease relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of the IBD patients relapsed within 2 years after anti-TNF discontinuation. In CD patients, no difference between those who were or were not in deep remission was found. Colonic localization protected patients from relapse.

Serum trough infliximab levels: A comparison of three different immunoassays for the monitoring of CT-P13 (infliximab) treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: CT-P13 is a biosimilar drug of reference infliximab and is approved in some countries for use in some indications for which reference infliximab is approved, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The CT-P13 formulation is identical to that of reference infliximab and has similar physiochemical characteristics. However, even a small molecular distinction could lead to different behavior of CT-P13 in immunoanalytical detection systems. AIM: To determine the correlation between three different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for infliximab detection in the measurement of CT-P13 trough serum levels. METHODS: Serum samples (n = 42) from IBD patients (n = 22) treated with CT-P13 Remsima™ (Celltrion, Korea) were evaluated in a blinded way in infliximab assays manufactured by (A) Matriks Biotek (Turkey), (B) Theradiag (France), and (C) R-Biopharm (Germany). RESULTS: All assays showed excellent qualitative correlation (Cohen's kappa = 0.90 for A vs. B, 0.76 for A vs. C, and 0.83 for B vs. C). A linear quantitative correlation was satisfactory as well (Spearman's r = 0.91 for A vs. B, 0.86 for A vs. C and 0.92 for B vs. C). Assay C did not detect CT-P13 in 6 samples detected by A and/or B. CONCLUSION: There is a good correlation of CT-P13 serum level detection between these assays.

Patterns of infringement, risk, and impact driven by coal mining permits in Indonesia.

Coal mining is known for its contributions to climate change, but its impacts on the environment and human lives near mine sites are less widely recognised. This study integrates remote sensing, GIS, stakeholder interviews and extensive review of provincial data and documents to identify patterns of infringement, risk and impact driven by coal mining expansion across East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Specifically, we map and analyse patterns of mining concessions, land clearing, water cover, human settlement, and safety risks, and link them with mining governance and regulatory infractions related to coal mining permits. We show that excessive, improper permit granting and insufficient monitoring and oversight have led to deforestation, widespread overlaps of concessions with settlements, extensive boundary and regulatory violations, lacking reclamation, and numerous deaths. As the world's largest thermal coal exporter, Indonesia's elevated coal infringements, risks, and impacts translate to supply chain, sustainability, and human rights concerns for global coal markets.

Pregnancy and newborn outcome of mothers with inflammatory bowel diseases exposed to anti-TNF-α therapy during pregnancy: three-center study.

OBJECTIVE: Substantial number of women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) conceives while on anti-TNF-α therapy. The aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of anti-TNF-α treatment during pregnancy and to analyze relationship of neonatal and maternal anti-TNF-α levels at delivery with gestational age at the last exposure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Women with IBD exposed to anti-TNF-α therapy during pregnancy were included. Data on anti-TNF-α treatment, disease activity, concomitant medication, pregnancy and newborn outcome were recorded. Anti-TNF-α levels from cord blood were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: Forty-one pregnancies (27 Crohn's disease; 14 ulcerative colitis) were exposed to infliximab (IFX; 32) and adalimumab (ADA; 9). Ten (24%) women had active disease at conception and 31 (76%) were in remission with 3 patients experiencing relapse during pregnancy. Anti-TNF-α therapy started prior to and after conception in 32 and 9 women, respectively. There were 34 (83%) live births (median birth weight 3145 g) of which 28 were at-term and 6 preterm deliveries. Five (12%) pregnancies ended in spontaneous and two in therapeutic abortion. No congenital malformations except for one case of hip dysplasia were observed. Similarly, no serious perinatal complication occurred. IFX cord levels measured in 11 children positively correlated with gestational week at the last drug administration and maternal levels at delivery, while no such correlation was found in case of ADA. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that anti-TNFs are effective and safe during pregnancy. A positive correlation between IFX cord levels and gestational week of last exposure as well as maternal serum levels was observed.

Subcutaneous Infliximab in Refractory Crohn's Disease Patients: A Possible Biobetter?

Background: A subcutaneous formulation of infliximab (IFX-SC) approved to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease may offer improved efficacy versus intravenous infliximab. Methods: Patients with refractory Crohn's disease (CD, n = 32) previously treated unsuccessfully with at least 2 biologics were treated with IFX-SC and followed from baseline at Week 0 (W0) to Week 30 (W30). The study's primary endpoint was the treatment's persistence at W30, while secondary goals included the analysis of serum infliximab trough levels (TL IFX), dynamics of anti-IFX antibodies (ATIs), and clinical, serum and fecal markers of CD activity during IFX-SC treatment. Results: Midterm treatment persistence with the continuation of treatment after W30 was 53%. TL IFX median values showed rapid, significant upward dynamics and exceeded 15.5 µg/mL at W30, whereas median ATI levels significantly declined. Among ATI-negative patients at W0 (n = 15), only one showed IFX immunogenicity with newly developed ATIs at W30. Among ATI-positive patients at W0, ATI seroconversion from ATI-positive to ATI-negative status was observed in 10 of 17 patients (58.8%). Patients who had continued IFX-SC treatment at W30 showed significant decreases in C-reactive protein (P = .0341), fecal calprotectin (P = .0002), and Harvey-Bradshaw index (P = .0029) since W0. Conclusions: Patients with refractory CD previously treated with at least 2 biologics exhibited clinically relevant improvement with IFX-SC, which showed less immunogenic potential than IFX-IV and highly stable TL IFX.

Porcine Model of Anastomotic Stricture in Crohn's Disease.

The development of new endoscopic methods is advancing rapidly. Current standard methods such as endoscopic balloon dilatation have only limited long-term effects. Surgery is more effective, but it also carries a higher risk of complications. Endoscopic stricturotomy and stricturoplasty are new methods expanding the range of possibilities of endoscopic treatment. These methods are advanced, technically demanding, and require adequate expertise and training. It is, therefore, necessary to have a tool for training and teaching these new methods. The live large animal model is a valuable tool in the development and testing of new, difficult, and dexterity intensive therapeutic methods thanks to its natural properties including bowel movements and tissue reactions such as swelling or bleeding. Animal model simulating secondary stricture in the site of the entero-colonic anastomosis has been created allowing not only to practice but also to develop new minimally invasive endoscopic techniques for the treatment of strictures in Crohn's disease (CD). High cost and stringent legislation represent the main limitations of more widespread use of large animal models in endoscopy.

Development of a novel green coating process with laser.

Corrosion causes costs of about 3-4% of each country's gross domestic product, and due to the climate change, the corrosion rates on infrastructure are likely to increase furtherly in the future1,2. For corrosion protection, hard chrome plating (HCP) is commercially used since the early 20th3. Yet the biggest drawback concerns environmental protection, since toxic and carcinogenic hexavalent chromium Cr6+ is used. As an alternative, thermal spray (TS) is increasingly used since the last 20 years. Nevertheless, the coatings are technologically constrained in regard to high porosity, low material efficiency and poor bonding to the base material. Therefore, the demand for an environmental friendly and economical process that produces high-quality coatings is increasingly coming into the research focus. With laser, dense, metallurgically bonded and therefore well-adhering coatings with high material efficiency of > 90% can be produced from a large number of metallic alloys without the need to use environmentally harmful chemicals or noise emissions. However, the typical area coating rate of < 0.4 m2/h is significantly lower than that of TS of about 10 m2/h4,5, and is too small for coating large-scale components. In this regard, a novel coating process with laser was developed in this work. By decoupling the melding of powder from the coating speed, the coating speed of < 2 m/min in conventional laser coating can be increased to > 500 m/min. Defect-free layers that metallurgically bond to the base material with a thickness of 50-250 µm and a material efficiency of > 90% can be achieved. According to the results, an area coating rate up to 20 m2/h is achievable. The pioneer work of applications in offshore and automobile sectors show, this process is already providing beneficial for the industry.

Versatile synthesis of pathogen specific bacterial cell wall building blocks.

Full details on the design, strategies and tactics for development of a novel synthetic sequence to farnesyl lipid I and II analogs is reported. The modular route was based on a three coupling strategy involving an efficient solid phase synthesis of the elaborate peptide fragment, which proceeded with excellent yield and stereoselectivity and was efficiently applied for the convergent synthesis of 3-lipid I and II. Furthermore, the generality of this route was demonstrated by synthesis of 3-lipid I congeners that are characteristic for S. aureus and E. faecalis. All 3-lipid I and II building blocks were obtained in high purity revealing high spectroscopic resolution.

Temporal Trends in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease Influenced by COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic influences the health care management of acute and chronic diseases. Data concerning the influence of the pandemic on hospitalizations of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are sparse. Methods: We analysed all patients hospitalized due to PAD between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020 in Germany. Hospitalizations of PAD patients during the pre-pandemic year 2019 were compared to the pandemic year 2020. Results: Overall, 361,029 hospitalizations of PAD patients in the years 2019 and 2020 (55.4% aged ≥70 years; 36.6% females) were included in this study. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019, a total of 25,501 (13.2%) more hospitalizations due to PAD were detected compared to the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020 (2019: 192,765 [53.4%] vs. 2020: 168,264 [46.6%], p = 0.065). Overall, in 610 (0.4%) of the hospitalization cases, a COVID-19 infection was diagnosed. Regarding interventional/surgical treatments, total numbers of peripheral endovascular intervention of the lower extremity decreased by 9.9% (83,845 vs. 75,519, p < 0.001), surgical peripheral artery revascularization of the lower extremity by 11.4% (32,447 vs. 28,754, p = 0.041) and amputations by 4.0% (20,612 vs. 19,784, p < 0.001) in 2020 compared to 2019. The case fatality rate (2.6% vs. 2.4%, p < 0.001), as well as MACCE rate (3.4% vs. 3.2%, p < 0.001), were slightly higher during the pandemic year 2020 compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the number of hospitalizations of PAD patients with a 13.2% reduction in hospital admissions and decreased total numbers of revascularization and amputation treatments.