The Role of Pocus in Acute Respiratory Failure: A Narrative Review on Airway and Breathing Assessment.

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a challenging condition that clinicians, especially in emergency settings, have to face frequently. Especially in emergency settings, many underlying diseases can lead to ARF and life-threatening conditions have to be promptly assessed and correctly treated to avoid unfavorable outcomes. In recent years, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) gained growing consideration due to its bedside utilization, reliability and reproducibility even in emergency settings especially in unstable patients. Research on POCUS application to assess ARF has been largely reported mainly with observational studies showing heterogeneous results from many different applications. This narrative review describes the wide potentiality of POCUS to face airways and breathing life-threatening conditions such as upper airway management, pulmonary and pleural pathologies and diaphragm impairment. We conducted extensive research of the literature to report from major studies to case reports deemed useful in practical clinical utilization of POCUS in ARF. Due to the huge amount of the literature found, we focused on airways and breathing assessment trying to systematize the evidence according to clinical care of ARF in emergency settings. Further studies, possibly trials, should determine how POCUS is crucial in clinical practice in terms of standard of care improvements, patient safety and cost-benefit analysis.

Diagnosis of lung cancer following emergency admission: Examining care pathways, clinical outcomes, and advanced NSCLC treatment in an Italian cancer Center.

Background: Lung cancer patients diagnosed following emergency admission often present with advanced disease and poor performance status, leading to suboptimal treatment options and outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and molecular characteristics, treatment initiation, and survival outcomes of these patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 124 patients diagnosed with lung cancer following emergency admission at a single institution. Clinical characteristics, results of molecular analyses for therapeutic purpose, systemic treatment initiation, and survival outcomes were assessed. Correlations between patients' characteristics and treatment initiation were analyzed. Results: Median age at admission was 73 years, and 79.0 % had at least one comorbidity. Most patients (87.1 %) were admitted due to cancer-related symptoms. Molecular analyses were performed in 89.5 % of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases. In this subgroup, two-thirds (66.2 %) received first-line therapy. Median overall survival (OS) was 3.9 months for the entire cohort, and 2.9 months for patients with metastatic lung cancer. Among patients with advanced NSCLC, OS was significantly longer for those with actionable oncogenic drivers and those who received first-line therapy. Improvement of performance status during hospitalization resulted in increased probability of receiving first-line systemic therapy. Discussion: Patients diagnosed with lung cancer following emergency admission demonstrated poor survival outcomes. Treatment initiation, particularly for patients with actionable oncogenic drivers, was associated with longer OS. These findings highlight the need for proactive medical approaches, including improving access to molecular diagnostics and targeted treatments, to optimize outcomes in this patient population.

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in a vulnerable COVID-19 cohort: a real-life experience in an Italian Hospital.

Clinical trials demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines reduce COVID-19-related mortality and morbidity. We describe the effect of vaccination on COVID-19-patients admitted at our hospital. Retrospective, single-center study conducted in Genoa, Italy, including patients ≥18years hospitalized for COVID-19 from May to December 2021. Demographical and clinical data were collected, vaccinated (group-A) and not-vaccinated (group-B) patients were compared. Impact of vaccination on mortality, ICU admission, and oxygen need was studied using Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models after adjusting for propensity scores. Overall, 395 patients SARS-CoV-2 infected were included, of which 150 (38%) were vaccinated and 245 (62%) were not vaccinated. Patients in group-A were older, more disable, and with higher morbidity. Overall, 64 patients (16%) died within 30 days from admission, 34 in Group A (23%), and 30 in group B (12%). However, no statistically significant differences were observed (group-A versus group-B: HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.49-1.40, p = 0.483). On the other hand, vaccination was protective in terms of ICU admission (OR = 0.23, p = 0.046) and oxygen need (OR = 0.33, p = 0.008). Our study confirms that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination reduces morbidity among patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The still high mortality in our cohort of vaccinated individuals could be partially due to vulnerable conditions of our patients.

Early sclerostin assessment in frail elderly patients with sepsis: insights on short- and long-term mortality prediction.

Unmet needs challenge clinical management of sepsis especially concerning patient profiling, enhancing recovery, and long-term sequelae. Here, we preliminarily focused on sclerostin (SOST) as a candidate biomarker to encompass such a broad range of clinical needs related to sepsis. Seventy-three septic patients were enrolled at internal medicine wards between January 2017 and December 2019 in this pilot study. Clinical examination and blood sample analyses were collected at enrollment and after 7 and 14 days. SOST levels were assessed on serum by ELISA. Thirty-day mortality was set as primary outcome. In-hospital and long-term mortality (2.5 years of median follow-up) were assessed as secondary outcomes. Patients were frail, elderly, and heterogeneous in terms of comorbidity burden. SOST levels were associated with age, cardiovascular comorbidities, and time to early death (30 days). When regression models were built, SOST displayed a high predictive value toward 30-day mortality (OR 13.459 with 95% CI 1.226-148.017) with ever better performance than validated scoring scales for critical ill patients. Such a predictive value of SOST was further confirmed for in-hospital (HR 10.089 with 95% CI 1.375-74.013) and long-term mortality (HR 5.061 with 95% CI 1.379-18.570). SOST levels generally decreased over 7 to 14 days after enrollment (p for trend < 0.001). The degree of this variation further predicted long-term mortality (HR for Δ SOST T0-day 14: 1.006 with 95% CI 1.001-1.011). Our results suggest a role for SOST in both short- and long-time prediction of worse outcome in septic elderly admitted to internal medicine wards.

Does Antithrombotic Therapy Affect Outcomes in Major Trauma Patients? A Retrospective Cohort Study from a Tertiary Trauma Centre.

Antithrombotic therapy may affect outcomes in major trauma but its role is not fully understood. We aimed to investigate adverse outcomes among those with and without antithrombotic treatment in major trauma. Material and methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at the Emergency Department (ED) of the University Hospital of Genoa, a tertiary trauma center, including all major trauma between January 2019 and December 2020. Adverse outcomes were reviewed among those without antithrombotic treatment (Group 0), on antiplatelet treatment (Group 1), and on anticoagulant treatment (Group 2). Results: We reviewed 349 electronic charts for full analysis. Group 0 were n = 310 (88.8%), Group 1 were n = 26 (7.4%), and Group 2 were n = 13 (3.7%). In-hospital death and ICU admission, respectively, were: n = 16 (5.6%) and n = 81 (26%) in Group 0, none and n = 6 (25%) in Group 1, and n = 2 (15.8%) and n = 4 (30.8%) in Group 2 (p = 0.123-p = 0.874). Altered INR (OR 5.2) and increasing D-dimer levels (AUC: 0.81) correlated to increased mortality. Discussion: Group 2 showed higher mortality than Group 0 and Group 1, however Group 2 had fewer active treatments. Of clotting factors, only altered INR and elevated D-dimer levels were significantly correlated to adverse outcomes. Conclusions: Anticoagulant but not antiplatelet treatment seems to produce the worst outcomes in major trauma.

Diversity of Cardiologic Issues in a Contemporary Cohort of Women With Breast Cancer.

Background: Women with breast cancer (BC) represent a special population particularly exposed to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, cardiologic assessment in BC is mostly limited to detection of left ventricular dysfunction cardiotoxicity (LVD-CTX) due to anticancer treatments. Our aim was to comprehensively investigate CV profile and events in a contemporary BC cohort. Methods and Results: Records of BC patients referred for a Cardio-Oncologic evaluation before starting anticancer treatments, between 2016 and 2019, were retrospectively reviewed (n = 508). Information regarding prevalence and control of CV risk factors, and novel CVD diagnoses were extracted. Occurrence of LVD-CTX, CV events other than LVD-CTX and mortality was assessed. Mean age of study population was 64 ± 13 years; 287 patients were scheduled to receive anthracycline and 165 anti-HER2 therapy. Overall, 53% of BC women had ≥2 CV risk factors, and 67% had at least one of arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia or diabetes mellitus not adequately controlled. Eighteen (4%) patients were diagnosed a previously unknown CVD. Over a mean follow-up of 2.5 ± 1 years, 3% of BC patients developed LVD-CTX, 2% suffered from other CV events and 11% died. CV risk factors were not associated with LVD-CTX, except for family history of CAD. On the contrary, patients with other CV events exhibited a worse CV profile. Those who died more commonly experienced CV events other than LVD-CTX (p = 0.02). Conclusions: BC women show a suboptimal CV risk profile and are at risk of CV events not limited to LVD-CTX. A baseline Cardio-Oncologic evaluation was instrumental to implement CV prevention and to optimize CV therapies.

Prevalence and prognostic value of cardiac troponin in elderly patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Increases in cardiac troponin (cTn) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been associated with worse prognosis. Nonetheless, data about the significance of cTn in elderly subjects with COVID-19 are lacking. METHODS: From a registry of consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to a hub hospital in Italy from 25/02/2020 to 03/07/2020, we selected those ≥ 60 year-old and with cTnI measured within three days from the molecular diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. When available, a second cTnI value within 48 h was also extracted. The relationship between increased cTnI and all-cause in-hospital mortality was evaluated by a Cox regression model and restricted cubic spline functions with three knots. RESULTS: Of 343 included patients (median age: 75.0 (68.0-83.0) years, 34.7% men), 88 (25.7%) had cTnI above the upper-reference limit (0.046 µg/L). Patients with increased cTnI had more comorbidities, greater impaired respiratory exchange and higher inflammatory markers on admission than those with normal cTnI. Furthermore, they died more (73.9%vs. 37.3%, P < 0.001) over 15 (6-25) days of hospitalization. The association of elevated cTnI with mortality was confirmed by the adjusted Cox regression model (HR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.06-2.52, P = 0.039) and was linear until 0.3 µg/L, with a subsequent plateau. Of 191 (55.7%) patients with a second cTnI measurement, 49 (25.7%) had an increasing trend, which was not associated with mortality (univariate HR = 1.39, 95%CI: 0.87-2.22, P = 0.265). CONCLUSIONS: In elderly COVID-19 patients, an initial increase in cTn is common and predicts a higher risk of death. Serial cTn testing may not confer additional prognostic information.

On-field evaluation of a ultra-rapid fluorescence immunoassay as a frontline test for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic.

BACKGROUND: Viral RNA amplification by real-time RT-PCR still represents the gold standard for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, but the development of rapid, reliable and easy-to-perform diagnostic methods is crucial for public health, because of the need of shortening the time of result-reporting with a cost-efficient approach. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our research was to assess the performance of FREND™ COVID-19 Ag assay (NanoEntek, South Korea) as a ultra-rapid frontline test for SARS-CoV-2 identification, in comparison with RT-PCR and another COVID-19 antigen fluorescence immunoassay (FIA). STUDY DESIGN: The qualitative FIA FREND™ test, designed to detect within 3 min the Nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2, was evaluated using nasopharyngeal swabs in Universal Transport Medium (UTM™, Copan Diagnostics Inc, US) from suspected COVID-19 cases who accessed the Emergency Room of the Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Liguria, Northwest Italy. Diagnostic accuracy was determined in comparison with SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and STANDARD F™ COVID-19 Ag FIA test (SD BIOSENSOR Inc., Republic of Korea). RESULTS: In November 2020, 110 nasopharyngeal samples were collected consecutively; 60 resulted RT-PCR positive. With respect to RT-PCR results, sensitivity and specificity of FREND™ COVID-19 Ag test were 93.3 % (95 % CI: 83.8-98.2) and 100 % (95 % CI: 92.9-100), respectively. FREND™and STANDARD F™ COVID-19 Ag FIA assays showed a concordance of 96.4 % (Cohen's k = 0.93, 95 % CI: 0.86-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: FREND™ FIA test showed high sensitivity and specificity in nasopharyngeal swabs. The assay has the potential to become an important tool for an ultra-rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in situations with limited access to molecular diagnostics.

Epilepsy course during COVID-19 pandemic in three Italian epilepsy centers.

During epidemic outbreaks, epilepsy course can be modified by different physical and psychological stressors and, most importantly, by irregular therapy intake. The effect of COVID-19 and quarantine isolation on the course of epilepsy and on incidence of new-onset seizures is still unclear. With the aim of managing epilepsy in quarantined patients, three Italian Epilepsy Centers set up telephone consultations using a semistructured interview, allowing a prospective collection of data on seizure course and other seizure-related problems during pandemic. The collected data on seizure course were compared with the analogous period of 2019. The level of patients' concern relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was also assessed using a numeric rating scale. To address the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on seizure incidence, data collection included the number of consultations for first seizures, relapse seizures, and status epilepticus (SE) in the emergency department of one of the participating centers. Clinical telephone interviews suggest the absence of quarantine effect on epilepsy course in our cohort. No differences in incidence of emergency consultations for seizures over a two-month period were also observed compared with a control period. As demonstrated in other infective outbreaks, good antiepileptic drug (AED) supplying, precise information, and reassurance are the most important factors in chronic conditions to minimize psychological and physical stress, and to avoid unplanned treatment interruptions.

Redox Imbalances in Ageing and Metabolic Alterations: Implications in Cancer and Cardiac Diseases. An Overview from the Working Group of Cardiotoxicity and Cardioprotection of the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC).

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a well established risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) diseases. In addition, several studies indicate that MetS correlates with the increased risk of cancer in adults. The mechanisms linking MetS and cancer are not fully understood. Several risk factors involved in MetS are also cancer risk factors, such as the consumption of high calorie-food or high fat intake, low fibre intake, and sedentary lifestyle. Other common aspects of both cancer and MetS are oxidative stress and inflammation. In addition, some anticancer treatments can induce cardiotoxicity, including, for instance, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and heart failure (HF), endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. In this review, we analyse several aspects of MetS, cancer and cardiotoxicity from anticancer drugs. In particular, we focus on oxidative stress in ageing, cancer and CV diseases, and we analyse the connections among CV risk factors, cancer and cardiotoxicity from anticancer drugs.

How to Monitor Cardiac Complications of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a successful paradigm in the treatment of cancer. ICIs elicit an immune response directed against cancer cells, by targeting the so-called immune checkpoints, key regulators of the immune system that when stimulated can dampen the immune response to an immunologic stimulus. Such response, however, is not entirely tumor-specific and may result in immune-related adverse events (irAEs), involving a number of organs and systems. Cardiovascular (CV) irAEs are rare, although potentially severe. In particular, several cases of ICI-related myocarditis with life-threatening course have been reported: the possibility of fulminant cases, thus, requires a high level of awareness among both oncologists and cardiologists. Aggressive work-up and management of symptomatic patients taking ICIs is fundamental for early recognition and initiation of specific immunosuppressive therapies. Notably, myocarditis occurs within few weeks from ICIs initiation, offering opportunity for a targeted screening. Troponin testing is the cornerstone of this screening, yet uncertainties remain regarding timing and candidates. Moreover, troponins positivity should be carefully interpreted. We herein review the main aspects of ICI-related myocarditis and suggest a practical approach. In particular, we focus on the opportunities that a baseline CV evaluation offers for subsequent management by collecting clinical and instrumental data, essential for the interpretation of troponin results, for differential diagnosis and for the formulation of a diagnostic and therapeutic workup.

Arterial hypertension in cancer: The elephant in the room.

The great therapeutical success achieved by oncology is counterbalanced by growing evidences of cardiovascular (CV) toxicity due to many antineoplastic treatments. Cardiac adverse events may cause premature discontinuation of effective oncologic treatments or occur as late events undermining the oncologic success. Arterial hypertension is both the most common comorbidity in cancer patients and a frequent adverse effect of anticancer therapies. A pre-existing hypertension is known to increase the risk of other cardiac adverse events due to oncologic treatments, in particular heart failure. Moreover, as a strict association between cancer and CV diseases has emerged over the recent years, various analyses have shown a direct relationship between hypertension and cancer incidence and mortality. Finally, many antineoplastic treatments may cause a rise in blood pressure (BP) values, particularly the novel anti VEGF agents, this possibly compromising efficacy of chemotherapy. Aim of this review is to revise the topic and the many aspects linking arterial hypertension and cancer, and to provide a comprehensive and practical guide of the current treatment approaches.