[Echocardiography in telemedicine: a possible solution for containing waiting lists in cardiology]. / L'ecocardiografia in telemedicina: una possibile soluzione per il contenimento delle liste d'attesa in cardiologia.

BACKGROUND: The length of waiting lists in Italy for outpatient cardiology investigations provided by the National Health System is a serious dysfunction. The shortage of physicians in hospitals makes it difficult to solve this problem by drawing on internal resources. The waiting list at Valduce Hospital in Como for outpatient echocardiographic examinations was 12 months at the beginning of 2018. Therefore, we experimented a new way to deal with this inefficiency. METHODS: Starting in February 2018, we have undertaken in Valduce Hospital a partnership between the Department of Cardiology and an external startup (Ecocardioservice LLC) which guarantees for outpatients on-site performance by sonographers of echocardiographic examinations that are subsequently reported remotely via telemedicine by experienced cardiologists. RESULTS: From February 12, 2018 to July 7, 2022, 20 782 examinations were carried out by this mode. The waiting list was reduced from 12 months to 15-20 days. A new diagnosis or a significant change in pre-existing pathology were detected in 3466 patients well in advance of previous timelines. In 5640 patients we found a known stable pathology. Of the 8926 patients with pathologic examination, 3706 patients were taken over by the Cardiology Department for subsequent investigations, possible hospitalization and, when necessary, interventional or cardiac surgical procedures on an elective basis in 2636 cases (71%) and on an urgent basis in 1070 cases (29%). CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, a system in which echocardiograms are performed on-site by sonographers and then reported in telecardiology by cardiologists outside the facility makes it possible to meet the demands of the local area and free up internal resources. This organization allowed to bring outpatients waiting lists for echocardiography back within acceptable limits and to intercept early a significant proportion of patients with need for further investigations or procedures.

Convalescent Plasma for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Single-Center Experience.

In Winter 2020, Italy, and in particular the Lombardy region, was the first country in the Western hemisphere to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Plasma from individuals recovered from COVID-19 (COVID-19 convalescent plasma, CCP) was the first therapeutic tool adopted to counteract the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this retrospective cohort study, we report the experience of the city hospital of Mantua, Lombardy region, on the compassionate use of CCP in patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19. Between April 2020 and April 2021, 405 consecutive COVID-19 patients received 657 CCP units with a median anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody (nAb) titer of 160 (interquartile range (IQR), 80−320). Their median age was 68 years (IQR, 56−78 years), and 62% were males. At enrollment, 55% of patients had an increased body mass index (BMI), and 25.6% had at least three comorbidities. The 28-day crude mortality rate was 12.6% (51/405). Young age (<68 years), mild disease (admission to low-intensity departments) and early treatment (<7 days from symptoms onset) with high nAb titer (≥320) CCP were found as independently associated with a favorable response to CCP treatment. No safety concerns were recorded, with a rate of CCP-related adverse reactions (all of mild intensity) of 1.3%. In our real-life experience, the first in the western world, early administration of high-titer CCP was a safe and effective treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

[The COVID-19 Epidemic: the experience in the Social and Health Care Center of the Mantua District (Lombardy Region, Northern Italy)]. / Epidemia di COVID-19: l'esperienza della struttura socio sanitaria territoriale provinciale di Mantova.

OBJECTIVES: to describe the course of COVID-19 epidemic in the hospitals of the ASST of Mantua (Lombrady Region, Northern Italy) from February 2020 to April 2021. DESIGN: observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: data from hospital discharging chart of all patients admitted to the hospitals of ASST were collected from 26.02.2020 to 30.04.2021 with COVID-19 diagnosis. Data from Emergency Rooms for patients evaluated but not admitted to departments were also collected. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: the data from hospital discharging were crossed for diagnosis with data from laboratory. The department were classified into 'low intensity' and 'middle/high intensity'. The comparison was according to the different periods of epidemic. RESULTS: patients admitted to the hospitals were 2,738: 510 died (17.3%) and 1,736 patients were evaluated in the Emergency Rooms but not admitted to departments. Among these patients, 166 died (9.6%). The prevailing age class were >=65 years, with a trend to reduction in the third wave. The proportion of admission in middle/high intensity departments was significantly higher in the second wave than in the first. N. 510 deaths by 2,738 (17.3%) were observed, with significant reduction in the second and third waves in the low intensity departments (from 21.9% to 14.3% and 12.7%) (p<0.001), while mortality was substantially unchanged in the middle/high intensity departments (28.0%, 29.6%, and 28.3%). The mortality for patients with >=65 years was 26.7%. Females showed lower mortality (OR 0.690; CI95% 0.560-0.840) and lower incidence of admissions in middle/high intensity departments (OR 0.556; CI95% 0.459-0.673) in the three waves. Finally, including also the patients not admitted, the general mortality was 15.1%. CONCLUSIONS: a worse outcome by mortality and severity of disease was observed for male gender compared to female and for older age classes. Moreover, a significant improvement of outcomes in the second and third waves, compared to the first, was pointed out.