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1.
Front Cardiovasc Med ; 9: 1003843, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2022669
2.
Tomography ; 8(4): 1836-1850, 2022 07 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1939006

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, primarily causes a respiratory tract infection that is not limited to respiratory distress syndrome, but it is also implicated in other body systems. Systemic complications were reported due to an exaggerated inflammatory response, which involves severe alveolar damage in the lungs and exacerbates the hypercoagulation that leads to venous thrombosis, ischemic attack, vascular dysfunction and infarction of visceral abdominal organs. Some complications are related to anticoagulant drugs that are administrated to stabilize hypercoagulability, but increase the risk of bleeding, hematoma and hemorrhage. The aim of this study is to report the diagnostic role of CT in the early diagnosis and management of patients with severe COVID-19 complications through the most interesting cases in our experience. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The retrospective analysis of patients studied for COVID-19 in our institution and hospitals, which are part of the university training network, was performed. CASES: Pneumomediastinum, cortical kidney necrosis, splenic infarction, cerebral ischemic stroke, thrombosis of the lower limb and hematomas are the most major complications that are reviewed in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CT imaging modality with its high sensitivity and specificity remains the preferred imaging choice to diagnose early the different complications associated with COVID-19, such as thrombosis, ischemic stroke, infarction and pneumomediastinum, and their management, which significantly improved the outcomes.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Ischemic Stroke , Mediastinal Emphysema , Stroke , Thrombosis , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Infarction/complications , Mediastinal Emphysema/complications , Pandemics , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Stroke/etiology , Thrombosis/complications
3.
Acta Biomed ; 93(1): e2022059, 2022 03 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1754145

ABSTRACT

The cause of pleural empyema is bacterial pneumonia and three stages has been described in the evolution of this disease: exudative, fibrino-purulent and organizational phases. The first therapeutic intervention is the antibiotic therapy; where pharmacological therapy alone is not sufficient to eradicate the infection, it is also necessary a surgical treatment. Since the province of Piacenza having been in the epicenter area during the first Sars-Cov 2 pandemic wave in March 2020 and the number of patients with Covid-related pneumonia required invasive and non-invasive respiratory support, had a considerable organizational impact on pulmonology and respiratory unit, hindering an optimal treatment of the bacterial pneumonia both in community as well as in the hospital. Among the many "collateral" damages of the epidemiological wave of the infection with Sars Cov-2, we have been able to observe in our Hospital, also an increase of pulmonary empyemas diagnosed at an advanced stage for what we believe to be organizational and social causes directly related to the pandemic: in order to cope with the emergency the Unit of Pneumology has been since March nearly uninterruptedly dedicated to the exclusive treatment of covid patients so the pneumologist has been removed due to the need from outpatient and residential management of general pneumology.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Empyema, Pleural , Pneumonia , Empyema, Pleural/diagnosis , Empyema, Pleural/epidemiology , Empyema, Pleural/therapy , Hospitals , Humans , Pandemics
4.
Am J Cardiol ; 167: 133-138, 2022 03 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1702670

ABSTRACT

Antecedent use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) prevents clinical deterioration and protects against cardiovascular/thrombotic complications of COVID-19, for indicated patients. Uncertainty exists regarding treatment continuation throughout infection and doing so with concomitant medications. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the differential effect of RASi continuation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 according to diuretic use. We used the Coracle registry, which contains data of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from 4 regions of Italy. We used Firth logistic regression for adult (>50 years) cases with admission on/after February 22, 2020, with a known discharge status as of April 1, 2020. There were 286 patients in this analysis; 100 patients (35.0%) continued RASi and 186 (65%) discontinued. There were 98 patients treated with a diuretic; 51 (52%) of those continued RASi. The in-hospital mortality rates in patients treated with a diuretic and continued versus discontinued RASi were 8% versus 26% (p = 0.0179). There were 188 patients not treated with a diuretic; 49 (26%) of those continued RASi. The in-hospital mortality rates in patients not treated with a diuretic and continued versus discontinued RASi were 16% versus 9% (p = 0.1827). After accounting for age, cardiovascular disease, and laboratory values, continuing RASi decreased the risk of mortality by approximately 77% (odds ratio 0.23, 95% confidence interval 0.06 to 0.95, p = 0.0419) for patients treated with diuretics, but did not alter the risk in patients treated with RASi alone. Continuing RASi in patients concomitantly treated with diuretics was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.


Subject(s)
Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists/therapeutic use , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/therapeutic use , COVID-19/therapy , Cardiovascular Diseases/drug therapy , Deprescriptions , Hospital Mortality , Sodium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/mortality , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Hospitalization , Humans , Italy , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Registries , Renin-Angiotensin System , SARS-CoV-2
5.
The American journal of cardiology ; 2022.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-1615312

ABSTRACT

Antecedent use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) prevents clinical deterioration and protects against cardiovascular/thrombotic complications of COVID-19, for indicated patients. Uncertainty exists regarding treatment continuation throughout infection and doing so with concomitant medications. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the differential effect of RASi continuation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 according to diuretic use. We used the Coracle registry, which contains data of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from 4 regions of Italy. We used Firth logistic regression for adult (>50 years) cases with admission on/after February 22, 2020, with a known discharge status as of April 1, 2020. There were 286 patients in this analysis;100 patients (35.0%) continued RASi and 186 (65%) discontinued. There were 98 patients treated with a diuretic;51 (52%) of those continued RASi. The in-hospital mortality rates in patients treated with a diuretic and continued versus discontinued RASi were 8% versus 26% (p = 0.0179). There were 188 patients not treated with a diuretic;49 (26%) of those continued RASi. The in-hospital mortality rates in patients not treated with a diuretic and continued versus discontinued RASi were 16% versus 9% (p = 0.1827). After accounting for age, cardiovascular disease, and laboratory values, continuing RASi decreased the risk of mortality by approximately 77% (odds ratio 0.23, 95% confidence interval 0.06 to 0.95, p = 0.0419) for patients treated with diuretics, but did not alter the risk in patients treated with RASi alone. Continuing RASi in patients concomitantly treated with diuretics was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.

6.
European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology ; 23(Suppl G), 2021.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-1601782

ABSTRACT

Aims A possible interference between ACE-i or ARBs with ACE-2 receptor and SARS-CoV-2 pathway has been raised. Despite data have shown no clinical impact of therapy with ACE-I or ARBs on COVID-19, these drugs are often discontinued upon hospitalization or diagnosis. To evaluate the effects of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and prior outpatient therapy with RAAS inhibitors on the chest CT severity score performed within 24 h of diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection (before stopping medications or starting specific therapy for COVID-19) and on 1-year survival. Methods and results This is a multicentre, prospective, observational study. All admitted patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection who performed chest CT within 24 h of arrival were consecutively enrolled from 1 March to 1 June 2020. A severity score was attributed to Chest CT by two radiologists in blind to the patient’s clinical information and a cut-off value of 19.5 was considered to define severe radiological pneumonia. A 1-year telephone follow-up was performed in order to evaluate the determinants of 1-year survival. 590 patients with a mean age of 63 ± 14 years were included. Seventy-three (12.4%) patients were treated with ACE-I, 85 (14.4%) with ARBs and 62 (10.5%) with CCB. Cox regression analysis showed that male gender (OR: 1.4;95% CI: from 1.02 to 2.07;P = 0.035), diabetes (OR: 1.6;95% CI: from 1.03 to 2.7;P = 0.037), age (OR: 1.02;95% CI: from 1.008 to 1.033;P = 0.001), and obesity (OR: 3.04;95% CI: from 1.3 to 6.7;P < 0.001) were independently associated with a severe CT score. Of note, while prior outpatient therapy with ACE-I and ARBs was not independently associated with severe CT score, therapy with CCB was independently associated with a severe CT score (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: from 1.05 to 3.4, P = 0.033). Severe chest CT severity score (OR: 1.05;95% CI: from 1.02 to 1.08;P < 0.001), P/F ratio (OR: 0.998;95% CI: from 0.994 to 0.998;P < 0.001), and older age (OR: 1.06;95% CI: from 1.03 to 1.1;P < 0.001) were independently associated with mortality at 1-year follow-up. Neither ACE-I, ARBs, and CCB were associated with mortality at 1 year follow-up. Conclusions ACE-I and ARBs do not influence the chest CT presentation of COVID-19 patients at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, ACE-I and ARBs do not influence 1-year survival of COVID-19 survivors.

7.
European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology ; 23(Suppl G), 2021.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-1601695

ABSTRACT

Aims Following the COVID‐19 pandemic‐related lockdown period in Italy, people have experienced psycho-physical distress. Many hospitals were converted in COVID-19 healthcare places and many specialist outpatient’s services were drastically reduced. Virtual visits may represent a strategy to overcome the lack of HF outpatient’s services, during this period. Our own experience underlines the importance of virtual visits to face the clinical and health status deterioration, associated with COVID-19, in HF outpatients. Methods and results We conducted an observational study, enrolling consecutive HF outpatients, previously hospitalized at the Department of Clinical, Internal, Anesthesiology and Cardiovascular Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome, who were discharged within 31 March 2019, and 30 April 2019. Two follow-up periods were scheduled: (i) within 20–30 days after the beginning of lockdown (ii) at 3 months after lockdown’s end. Virtual visits were conducted through telephone, assessing changes in clinical and health status;the latter was assessed through the short version of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12). According to the presence of at least one sign of HF deterioration, patients were divided into two groups: Group 1: patients who experienced a modification in at least one clinical parameter suggestive of HF deterioration. Group 2: patients who do not experienced any modification of HF deterioration clinical parameter. KCCQ-12 mean scores were compared between the two groups, at both scheduled virtual visits, in order to evaluate any change in HF outpatients’ health status, during and after the COVID-19-related-lockdown. 160 HF outpatients have been included in the study: 63 in the group 1, 97 in the group 2. At the first virtual visit, group 1 reported significantly lower mean KCCQ-12 score, compared to group 2 [46.2 (±14.6) vs. 53.8 (±11);CI: 95% 11.6 to − 3.6;P = 0.0003]. At the second virtual visit, group 1 patients reported a slightly, but not statistically significant, lower mean KCCQ-12 score, compared to group 2 [52.2 (± 13.3) vs. 53.1(±14.4);95% CI: −5.4 to 3.6;P = 0.69]. Comparing the KCCQ-12 mean scores of each group between the two scheduled virtual visits, group 1 reported a statistically significant increase at the second visit, compared to the first [52.2 (±13.3) vs. 46.2 (±14.6);CI: 95% 1.1–11;P = 0.017]. Group 2 showed no statistically significant variation of mean KCCQ-12 score between the two follow-up periods [53.1 (±14.4) vs. 53.8 (±11);CI: 95% −4.3 to 3;P = 0.704]. Conclusions we observed a significant worsening of health status in HF outpatients who have experienced clinical deterioration. Therefore, patients were either hospitalized or received the optimization of diuretic and anti-hypertensive therapies. A significant health status improvement was observed at three months after the end of the lockdown, suggesting the importance of virtual visit as an adequate method to follow-up HF outpatients, reporting particular benefits in those with worsening of HF clinical signs and health status.

8.
Healthcare (Basel) ; 9(12)2021 Dec 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1580886

ABSTRACT

The spread of COVID-19 created a state of emergency all over the world and played a big role in the decline of the mental health of citizens. The context of the workplace became an important variable in the impact of the lockdown on individuals. In this study, we deepened the categories of healthcare workers (HWs), virtual workers (VWs), and the elderly, along with their emotional approach to this emergency. A sample of 257 participants (ElderlyN = 62; HWsN = 104; VWsN = 91) completed: a semi-structured interview on their experience during lockdown via telephone; an online survey with a sociodemographic questionnaire; the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS); and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Linguistic measures of the Referential Process were utilized to code the interviews. An independent ANOVA explored the variability among groups. The results show more affective language in the Elderly (M = 0.0310, SD = 0.0070) and a growth in spirituality (M = 4.16, SD = 3.17). HWs displayed a higher PTGI (M = 56.84, SD = 20.29), while VWs displayed a lower PTGI (M = 50.02, SD = 21.05). Moreover, VWs presented higher scores in Impulse on the DERS (M = 11.67, SD = 5.05) and a more cognitive/abstract narration (Reflection IREF M = 0.0260, SD = 0.0071; Reorganization IWRRL M = 0.5419, SD = 0.0032; Referential Activity IWRAD M = 0.4978, SD = 0.0029). This study aims to take the work context into consideration to create focused interventions.

9.
Pract Lab Med ; 26: e00251, 2021 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1330016

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: the different analytical methods for measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are not yet fully harmonized and no consensus exists on a threshold of 25(OH)D defining a deficiency status. In this study, we compared the results from the assays of serum 25(OH)D performed with three different methods to evaluate the presence of potential biases and how much these biases can influence the assignment of patients to specific 25(OH)D deficiency/sufficiency categories. DESIGN AND METHODS: Liaison 25(OH) Vitamin D Total (DiaSorin Liaison XL), Elecsys Vitamin D Total II (Roche Elecsys) and Lumipulse G25(OH) Vitamin D (Fujirebio Lumipulse G1200) were used. Methods comparability was established performing Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman analysis to prove whether the differences found were lower than the preliminarily pre-established maximum acceptable bias. RESULTS: all Passing-Bablok regressions exhibited the presence of a proportional and constant systematic error. Bland-Altman analysis revealed biases well above the maximum acceptable bias, so the 25(OH)D concentrations measured were not comparable. To evaluate whether the three methods had the same ability to classify patients into different categories of vitamin D levels, we categorized results obtained by each method in reference classes. Lumipulse categorized most patients into the class with the lowest 25(OH)D concentrations (<20 ng/mL) whereas Elecsys ranked the lowest number. CONCLUSIONS: Liaison XL and Elecsys have shown good accuracy compared to Lumipulse in measuring 25(OH)D levels. Nevertheless, the assays were not interchangeable due to the lack of comparability of results as well as to the disagreement in classification of hormone deficiency or sufficiency.

10.
researchsquare; 2021.
Preprint in English | PREPRINT-RESEARCHSQUARE | ID: ppzbmed-10.21203.rs.3.rs-345834.v1

ABSTRACT

Background: Antecedent use of renin angiotensin aldosterone inhibitors (RAASi) appears crucial to prevent clinical deterioration and protect against cardiovascular and/or thrombotic complications of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), for indicated patients. Doubts have been raised about continuing treatment throughout infection, and nothing is known regarding its effect with concomitant medications. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the differential effect of RAASi continuation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 according to diuretic use. Methods: : We used the Coracle (epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and therapy in real life patients affected by Sars-Cov-2) multi-center registry, which contains data of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from 4 regions of Italy. We performed analyses on adult (50+ years) records with admission on/after February 22, 2020 with a known mortality or discharge status as of April 1, 2020. We constructed a multivariable Firth logistic regression model to complete our objective. Results: : There were 286 patients in this analysis. Overall, 100 (35.0%) patients continued RAASi and 186 (65%) discontinued. There were 98 patients who were treated with a diuretic; 51 (52%) of those continued RAASi. The in-hospital mortality rates among patients treated with a diuretic and continued vs. discontinued RAASi were 7.8% vs 25.5% (p = 0.0179). There were 188 patients who were not treated with a diuretic; 49 (26.1%) of those continued RAASi. The in-hospital mortality rates among patients who were not treated with a diuretic and continued vs. discontinued RAASi were 16.3% vs 9.4% (p = 0.1827). After accounting for age, congestive heart failure, and coronary heart disease/ischemic heart disease, continuing RAASi decreased the risk of mortality by approximately 72% (OR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.08 – 0.94, p = 0.0391) for patients treated with diuretics, but did not alter the risk in patients who were not treated with diuretics. Conclusion: Diuretic use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who were on RAASi prior to admission was associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality. Whether this combined therapy increases risk or is the reflection of a more severe presentation deserves further investigation. Continuing RAASi therapy in patients concomitantly treated with diuretics was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.


Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Myocardial Ischemia , Heart Failure , Coronary Disease , COVID-19
11.
World J Emerg Surg ; 16(1): 9, 2021 03 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1123661

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection has spread worldwide, and the pathogenic mechanism is still under investigation. The presence of a huge inflammatory response, defined as "cytokine storm," is being studied in order to understand what might be the prognostic factors implicated in the progression of the infection, with ferritin being one of such markers. The role of ferritin as a marker of inflammation is already known, and whether it changes differently between COVID and non-COVID patients still remains unclear. The aim of this retrospective analysis is to understand whether the inflammatory process in these two types is different. METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, we compared 17 patients affected by SARS-CoV-2, who had been admitted between February and April 2020 (group A) along with 30 patients admitted for acute surgical disease with SARS-CoV-2 negative swab (group B). A further subgroup of Covid negative patients with leukocytosis was compared to group A. RESULTS: In group A, the median (interquartile range) serum ferritin was 674 (1284) ng/mL, and it was double the cutoff (300 ng/mL) in 9 out of 17 (52%). The median (IQR) value of ferritin level in the total blood samples of group B was 231, and in the subgroup with leucocytosis, 149 (145). Group A showed a significantly higher ferritin median level compared to the entire group B (two-tailed Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.0001) as well as to the subgroup with leucocytosis (p < 0.0014). CONCLUSIONS: The role of iron metabolism appears to be directly involved in COVID infection. On the other hand, in the acute inflammation of patients admitted for surgery, and probably in other common phlogistic processes, iron modifications appear to be self-limited. However, our finding suggests the use of ferritin as a marker for COVID infection.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Testing/methods , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/physiopathology , Ferritins/blood , Inflammation/diagnosis , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biomarkers/blood , COVID-19/blood , COVID-19/surgery , Case-Control Studies , Emergencies , Female , Humans , Inflammation/blood , Inflammation/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Surgical Procedures, Operative
12.
Biology (Basel) ; 10(2)2021 Jan 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1045466

ABSTRACT

To assess the performance of the second reading of chest compute tomography (CT) examinations by expert radiologists in patients with discordance between the reverse transcription real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19 viral pneumonia and the CT report. Three hundred and seventy-eight patients were included in this retrospective study (121 women and 257 men; 71 years median age, with a range of 29-93 years) and subjected to RT-PCR tests for suspicious COVID-19 infection. All patients were subjected to CT examination in order to evaluate the pulmonary disease involvement by COVID-19. CT images were reviewed first by two radiologists who identified COVID-19 typical CT patterns and then reanalyzed by another two radiologists using a CT structured report for COVID-19 diagnosis. Weighted к values were used to evaluate the inter-reader agreement. The median temporal window between RT-PCRs execution and CT scan was zero days with a range of (-9,11) days. The RT-PCR test was positive in 328/378 (86.8%). Discordance between RT-PCR and CT findings for viral pneumonia was revealed in 60 cases. The second reading changed the CT diagnosis in 16/60 (26.7%) cases contributing to an increase the concordance with the RT-PCR. Among these 60 cases, eight were false negative with positive RT-PCR, and 36 were false positive with negative RT-PCR. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CT were respectively of 97.3%, 53.8%, 89.0%, and 88.4%. Double reading of CT scans and expert second readers could increase the diagnostic confidence of radiological interpretation in COVID-19 patients.

14.
Am J Cardiovasc Dis ; 10(4): 506-513, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-937949

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mortality from acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is strictly related to early management. As female patients usually experience longer delays before diagnosis and treatment, we assessed whether women were more affected by the dramatic drop in hospital admissions for ACS during the Covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of clinical and angiographic characteristics of consecutive patients who were admitted for ACS at 15 hospitals in Northern Italy comparing men and women data. The study period was defined as the time between the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Italy (February 20, 2020) and March 31, 2020. We compared hospitalization rates between the study period and two control periods: the corresponding period during the previous year (February 20 to March 31, 2019) and the earlier period during the same year (January 1 to February 19, 2020). Incidence rate ratios comparing the study period with each of the control periods were calculated with the use of Poisson regression. RESULTS: Of the 547 patients who were hospitalized for ACS during the study period, only 127 (23%) were females, accounting for a mean of 3.1 admissions per day, while ACS hospitalized males were 420, with a mean of 10.2 admissions per day. There was a significant decrease driven by a similar reduction in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) diagnosis in both sexes compared to the control periods. A trend toward a greater reduction in admitted females was shown in the intra-year control period (46% admission reduction in females vs 37% in males, with females accounting for 26% of ACS, P=0.10) and a significant reduction when compared to the previous year control period (40% admission reduction in females vs 23% in males, with females accounting for 28% of ACS, P=0.03), mainly related to Unstable Angina diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The Covid-19 pandemic period closed the gap between men and women in ACS, with similar rates of reduction of hospitalized STEMI and NSTEMI and a trend toward greater reduction in UA admission among women. Furthermore, many typical differences between males and females regarding ischemic heart disease presentations and vessel distribution were leveled.

16.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ; 17(18):6914, 2020.
Article | MDPI | ID: covidwho-783872

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To compare different commercial software in the quantification of Pneumonia Lesions in COVID-19 infection and to stratify the patients based on the disease severity using on chest computed tomography (CT) images. Materials and methods: We retrospectively examined 162 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. All cases were evaluated separately by radiologists (visually) and by using three computer software programs: (1) Thoracic VCAR software, GE Healthcare, United States;(2) Myrian, Intrasense, France;(3) InferRead, InferVision Europe, Wiesbaden, Germany. The degree of lesions was visually scored by the radiologist using a score on 5 levels (none, mild, moderate, severe, and critic). The parameters obtained using the computer tools included healthy residual lung parenchyma, ground-glass opacity area, and consolidation volume. Intraclass coefficient (ICC), Spearman correlation analysis, and non-parametric tests were performed. Results: Thoracic VCAR software was not able to perform volumes segmentation in 26/162 (16.0%) cases, Myrian software in 12/162 (7.4%) patients while InferRead software in 61/162 (37.7%) patients. A great variability (ICC ranged for 0.17 to 0.51) was detected among the quantitative measurements of the residual healthy lung parenchyma volume, GGO, and consolidations volumes calculated by different computer tools. The overall radiological severity score was moderately correlated with the residual healthy lung parenchyma volume obtained by ThoracicVCAR or Myrian software, with the GGO area obtained by the ThoracicVCAR tool and with consolidation volume obtained by Myrian software. Quantified volumes by InferRead software had a low correlation with the overall radiological severity score. Conclusions: Computer-aided pneumonia quantification could be an easy and feasible way to stratify COVID-19 cases according to severity;however, a great variability among quantitative measurements provided by computer tools should be considered.

19.
Acta Biomed ; 91(9-S): 61-75, 2020 07 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-670138

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 is a strong reminder that the lockdown period has changed the way that people and communities live, work, and interact, and it's necessary to make resilient the built environment, both outdoor and mainly the indoor spaces: housing, workplaces, public buildings, and entertainment facilities. How can we re-design the concept of Well-being and Public Health in relation to the living places of the future? METHODS: According to the previous statements and scenario, this paper aims to integrate the building hygiene and well-being, focusing the possible responses, both existing and for the new buildings, taking home a strong message from this "period" of physical distancing. RESULTS: The Well-being and Public Health recommendations for a healthy, safe, and sustainable housing are framed into the following key points: 1. Visible and accessible green elements and spaces; 2. Flexibility, adaptability, sharing, and crowding of living spaces, and compliant functions located into the buildings; 3. Re-appropriation of the basic principles and archetypes of sustainable architecture, thermal comfort and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ); 4. Water consumption and Wastewater Management; 5. Urban Solid Waste Management; 6. Housing automation and electromagnetic fields; 7. Indoor building and finishing materials. CONCLUSIONS: The Well-being and Public Health recommendations for a healthy, safe and sustainable housing may provide a useful basis for Designers, Policy Makers (fostering tax incentives for building renewal), Public Health experts and Local Health Agencies, in promoting actions and policies aimed to transform living places in healthier and Salutogenic spaces.


Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Housing/standards , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Public Health , Air Pollution, Indoor , COVID-19 , Construction Materials , Electromagnetic Fields , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Waste Management
20.
Acta Biomed ; 91(9-S): 92-94, 2020 07 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-671593

ABSTRACT

The long lockdown, the frequent adoption of smart working, the online lessons for both school and university pupils, and the domestic isolation of many people in order to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, have changed the way millions of people lived their home spaces in the last few months. This also led to a backlash on real estate values, enhancing some characteristics and penalizing others.


Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , COVID-19/prevention & control , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , COVID-19/economics , COVID-19/psychology , Coronavirus Infections/economics , Coronavirus Infections/psychology , Humans , Pneumonia, Viral/economics , Pneumonia, Viral/psychology , Quarantine , SARS-CoV-2
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