IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON REFERRAL OF PATIENTS WITH LIVER DISEASE TO A LIVER TRANSPLANT CENTER

Background and aim: Access to liver transplantation (LT) can beaffected by several barriers resulting in delayed referral and increased risk of mortality. Therefore, hub-and-spoke networks have been implemented in order to manage patients with liver disease. COVID-19 pandemic may have significantly changed this scenario, as most of medical resources have been allocated for the care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aimed to assess the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on referrals of patients with liver disease to a LT Center.Materials and methods: An integrated referral program was developed since 10.2017 at Multivisceral Transplant Unit, PadovaUniversity. All consecutive adult patients with liver disease referred for the first time using this program from 10.2017 to 12.2020 were prospectively collected. Clinical characteristics were analyzedoverall and according to era of referral (pre-COVID-19 era:10.2017-02.2020;COVID-19 era:03.2020-12.2020).Results: 231 patients with liver disease were referred over the study period (men 61%, mean ± SD age: 54±10 years). End-stage liver disease was the most common underlying condition (78.3%), followed by acute liver injury/acute liver failure (17.3%). During COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of referred patients showed a stable trend, if compared with the previous period (5.1 patients/monthvs. 6.1 patients/month), also when only in-patient referrals wereconsidered (pre-COVID-19 era vs.COVID-19 era: 2.9 vs. 3.2 patients/month). Considering 181 patients with cirrhosis, underlying etiology (p=0.22), severity of liver disease (MELD score: 21±7 vs. 20±8;p=0.44), and inpatient referrals (42% vs. 51%;p=0.34) did not differ between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras. There was a decreasing rate of ICU admission for cirrhosis-related complicationsduring COVID-19 pandemic (22% vs. 34%;p=0.3), with an increased in-hospital transplant-free mortality (41% vs. 30%;p=0.3).Conclusions: Conclusion: Our results did not show a significant decrease in the number of referrals and type of indications during the COVID-19 pandemic;however, the in-hospital transplant free mortality showed an increasing trend, which could be the consequence of a decreasing rate of ICU admissions. Taken together, thesefactors confirmed the importance of a referral network for the care of patients with liver disease, but also how the COVID-19 pandemic may influence the short-term outcome of patients with liver disease.

Tele-medicine versus face-to-face consultation in Endocrine Outpatients Clinic during COVID-19 outbreak: a single-center experience during the lockdown period.

CONTEXT: The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy is the major concern of Public Health in 2020: measures of containment were progressively expanded, limiting Outpatients' visit. OBJECTIVE: We have developed and applied an emergency plan, tailored for Outpatients with endocrine diseases. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study from March to May 2020. SETTING: Referral University-Hospital center. PATIENTS: 1262 patients in 8 weeks. INTERVENTIONS: The emergency plan is based upon the endocrine triage, the stay-safe procedures and the tele-Endo. During endocrine triage every patient was contacted by phone to assess health status and define if the visit will be performed face-to-face (F2F) or by tele-Medicine (tele-Endo). In case of F2F, targeted stay-safe procedures have been adopted. Tele-Endo, performed by phone and email, is dedicated to COVID-19-infected patients, to elderly or frail people, or to those with a stable disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: To assess efficacy of the emergency plan to continue the follow-up of Outpatients. RESULTS: The number of visits cancelled after endocrine triage (9%) is lower than that cancelled independently by the patients (37%, p < 0.001); the latter reduced from 47 to 19% during the weeks of lockdown (p = 0.032). 86% of patients contacted by endocrine-triage received a clinical response (F2F and tele-Endo visits). F2F visit was offered especially to young patients; tele-Endo was applied to 63% of geriatric patients (p < 0.001), visits' outcome was similar between young and aged patients. CONCLUSIONS: The emergency plan respects the WHO recommendations to limit viral spread and is useful to continue follow-up for outpatients with endocrine diseases.

COVID-19 strategy in organizing and planning orthopedic surgery in a major orthopedic referral center in an area of Italy severely affected by the pandemic: experience of the Department of Orthopedics, University of Padova.

BACKGROUND: According to the required reorganization of all hospital activities, the recent COVID-19 pandemic had dramatic consequences on the orthopedic world. We think that informing the orthopedic community about the strategy that we adopted both in our hospital and in our Department of Orthopedics could be useful, particularly for those who are facing the pandemic later than Italy. METHODS: Changes were done in our hospital by medical direction to reallocate resources to COVID-19 patients. In the Orthopedic Department, a decrease in the number of beds and surgical activity was stabilized. Since March 13, it has been avoided to perform elective surgery, and since March 16, non-urgent outpatient consultations were abolished. This activity reduction was associated with careful evaluation of staff and patients: extensive periodical swab testing of all healthcare staff and swab testing of all surgical patients were applied. RESULTS: These restrictions determined an overall reduction of all our surgical activities of 30% compared to 2019. We also had a reduction in outpatient clinic activities and admissions to the orthopedic emergency unit. Extensive swab testing has proven successful: of more than 160 people tested in our building, only three COVID-19 positives were found, and of over more than 200 surgical procedures, only two positive patients were found. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive swab test of all people (even if asymptomatic) and proactive tracing and quarantining of potential COVID-19 positive patients may diminish the virus spread.