ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed many aspects of our private and professional routine. In particular, the lockdowns have severely affected the entire healthcare system and hospital activities, forcing it to rethink the protocols in force. We suggest that this scenario, in spite of the new challenges involving so far complex healthcare providers, may lead to the unique opportunity to rethink pathways and management of patients. Indeed, having to resume institutional activity after a long interruption that has completely canceled the previously existing schemes, healthcare providers have the unique opportunity to overcome obsolete and "we have always done in this way" model on the wave of the general desire to resume a normal life. Furthermore, the pandemic has highlighted some flaws in our health system, highlighting those critical issues that most need to be addressed. This article is a review of pre-pandemic literature addressing the use of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and standardization processes in thoracic surgery to improve efficiency. Our goal is to identify the main issues that could be successfully improved along the entire pathway of a patient from the first referral to diagnosis, hospitalization, and surgical operation up to convalescence. Furthermore, we aim to identify the standardization processes that have been implemented to achieve significant improvements in patient outcomes while reducing costs. The methods and goals that could be used in the near future to modernize our healthcare systems are drawn up from a careful reading and interpretation in light of the pandemic of the most significant review articles in the literature.
ABSTRACT
We describe a case of a SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in a Swiss 54-years-old immunocompromised patient (lymphoma, therapy with the anti-CD20 antibody Rituximab® ), with initial scarce respiratory symptoms but typical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) radiological presentation, and symptoms onset during a holiday trip to Texas (USA). Three nasopharyngeal swabs in the 96 hours following hospital admission were negative, despite a CT thorax suggestive for an early stage of infection. COVID-infection was finally confirmed in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, performed for exclusion of an alternative diagnosis in immunocompromised. In the BAL an increased cellularity with marked lymphocytosis of 35%, a reduced CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.1 and borderline neutrophilia of 3% were found. This finding might be due to the concomitant therapy with anti-CD20 antibodies, but the presence of lymphocytosis in the BAL despite peripheral lymphopenia with decreased CD4/CD8 T-cells ratio are described here for the first time in a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Persistent gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea), fever and initially headache were the predominant symptoms. The respiratory symptoms were scarce (variable mild dyspnea mMRC1). The respiratory conditions worsened during the hospital stay, with tachypnea up to 35/min, increased need for supplemental oxygen up to 8 L/min and worsening lung infiltrates on CT thorax on day 5. A therapy with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and an immunoglobulin-supplementation were given, with clinical and respiratory improvement, without need for intensive care or any ventilator support, and hospital discharge on day 16. Our case highlights some diagnostic and therapeutical challenges occurring in patients with COVID-19 infection. As take-home message, in the presence of clinical and radiological findings compatible with SARS-CoV-2 infection we outline the importance of treating patients accordingly, also in presence of repeated negative nasopharyngeal swabs. In selected patients as in our case a bronchoscopic BAL should be considered to exclude other infections, but in our opinion not primarily to confirming COVID-19 infection. Our unique finding of a lymphocytosis in the BAL during a COVID-19 infection needs further investigations.