Teachers' perceptions about the delivery and methodology of a blended learning mentor training course: a case from Chile

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the perceptions of participants regarding a blended learning training course in Chile (and its e-learning adaptation due to the COVID-19 pandemic) for mentor teachers (MTs). The MT learns theoretical elements of mentoring and in parallel accompanies a newly qualified teacher while receiving support from an online tutor. Opinions are presented from MTs and accompanied teachers (ATs) about the contribution, format and methodology of the course. Design/methodology/approach: A program evaluation with mixed methodology was used. Online questionnaires were sent to MTs and ATs at the end of the course. Returned questionnaires totaled 98 MTs and 20 ATs for the blended learning version and 75 MTs and 54 ATs for the e-learning format. In addition, 11 post-course interviews were conducted in three schools with MTs, ATs and their school leaders. Findings: The course contributed to the development of mentoring skills. Participants highlighted the importance of the face-to-face component of both versions. The theoretical–practical methodology used was positively evaluated. Support and feedback provided to MTs by the online tutor was important for developing skills. Research limitations/implications: Results are part of a case (n = 247), so general statements cannot be made about the population. Practical implications: While this program evaluation focuses on a specific context, the results can contribute to the design of effective MT online training courses in other contexts and countries, given the limited body of research on this type of experience. Originality/value: The course provided is described in detail, which may be useful when designing similar mentor education courses in other contexts. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

COVID-19 and asthma in paediatric age: Does the metabolic syndrome matters?

Background: Among the paediatric population there was no increase in asthma related morbidity with COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of the lung function tests after SARS CoV-2 infection. Method(s): Retrospective characterization of 79 paediatric patients with lung function tests performed after 6-8 weeks of SARS-CoV- 2 infection, between March 2020 and December 2021. Some endpoints were analysed like asthma as a comorbidity, lung function measurements, body mass index (BMI) and hospitalizations. Result(s): The mean age of this sample was 12.2 +/- 2.1 years old [4;17], 59% were male and 53% had asthma. The non asthmatic children were younger (10.1 +/- 1.8 years old). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all patients at the time of lung function test, 56% had a normal weight (n = 40), 37.9% were overweight (n = 30), and 11.3% (n = 9) were obese. More than a half of the non asthmatic group had a normal weight (58%, n = 24), 33% were overweight (n = 10) and 33% were obese (n = 3). In the asthma group, 40% (n = 16) had a normal weight, 67% were overweight or were obese (n = 20 and 6, respectively). None of the involved children had restrictive pattern post COVID-19, nor an obstruction, and as for diffusion tests, all the results were in between the limits of normality. Only one non asthmatic patient was hospitalised. Three asmathic patients reported post COVID-19 symptoms, like tiredness, hyposmia, and chest pain for a period of 6 month at least, as well four non asthmatic patients, with similar symptoms. Conclusion(s): Taking into account lung function tests performed after COVID-19 infection, there was no negative impact in asmathic/non asthmatic children outcomes. However there is a higher proportion of asmathic overweighted/obese children with COVID-19 infection, which reinforce that metabolic syndrome seems to play an important role on this disease.

Covid-19 and Short-Term Rental in Portugal: Unpre-dictable Futures

This article presents the results of a pioneering online survey of short-term rental (STR) hosts (N=879) in Portugal about the impact of Covid on their activity, with a sample structured into four areas (Lisbon, Porto, Algarve and the rest of the country). Despite the very high losses, especially in the cities, most of the respondents intend to continue operating in the STR sector. A massive migration from STR to long-term rental is not predicted for a number of reasons, including financial, those related to the nature of this type of supply – more temporary – and the high level of distrust of the state, specifically in terms of guaranteeing legislative stability. In the cities, medium-term rental is the alternative most commonly considered, suggesting there may be a possible restructuring of the sector. Survival capacity over the medium term will depend on the degree of losses and type of public support received during the pandemic, which has benefited hosts constituted as companies more than the sole proprietorships. © 2023,Revista Portuguesa de Estudos Regionais. All Rights Reserved.

Technological Management Based on Patents in the Public Domain: A Study Project from the Treatment of Diseases Caused by Coronaviruses

Objective The study is projected to examine the information contained in patent documents that are in the public domain, using prospecting mechanisms focused on available technologies for the treatment of diseases of the Coronavirus family. Methodology and Discussion This is an investigation to identify and evaluate technologies developed for SARS and MERS and their possible contributions to COVID-19. It adopted as a procedure a patentometric study carried out on the Questel & Oacute;rbita platform to identify public domain patents related to diseases caused by the Coronavirus and the Delphi method for the analysis of technologies and their possible contribution to the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: It is concluded that the adopted methodology was configured as an effective instrument for technological Contribution: prospecting studies, with some adjustments regarding the use of elements to evaluate the level of technological maturity.

Training the Armed Forces personnel in COVID-19 contact tracing: a Portuguese case study : Sofia Carmezim Pereira

Background Local contact tracing teams needed to be reinforced in preparation for a peak in Covid-19 cases. The Portuguese Armed Forces showed availability and their members initiated a formal training facilitated by the Public Health Unit (PHU) of Amadora. Health systems must be prepared to respond to all threats, as the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the need for quick task shifting and the training of non-experts’ workers. Objectives The aim of the project was to develop contact tracing skills by non-health professionals, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The training program was held online, with a total duration of 48 hours, distributed by the topics described: introduction to health and epidemiology concepts, the national guidelines, and the information systems (13h). We privileged demonstrative and participatory training methods, followed by continuous supervision of each contact tracing survey and constant feedback (35h). Learning support materials were sent out to assist the trainees, including written and video support. Results More than 200 personnel - sailors, soldiers and airmen - were trained. Each Lisbon and Tagus Valley area PHU was reinforced with a team of military professionals in order to support the contact tracing process, with an increase in the number of surveys completed. We highlight as positive aspects: increased number of contact tracing surveys carried out;growth of inter-institutional partnerships;freeing up of specialized PHU resources to other important tasks. As for negative aspects we focus on the complexity in health communication, the limited time for training, and the lack of specific health knowledge of the trainees. Conclusions This pandemic revealed the Portuguese need for a transdisciplinary approach in the provision of care, specially at a Public Health level. Training programs like these highlight the vital role of reshaping and reorganizing the healthcare workforce answering Public Health necessities. Key messages • Training programs for non-health workers must be prepared to reinforce health systems when necessary. The reinforcement of contact tracing teams by the Portuguese Armed Forces was a great example. • A transdisciplinary approach in the provision of care was essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific training of non-health workers can be planned in time to respond to health threats.

Mental health of female sex workers in the COVID-19 pandemic: stressors and coping strategies

The objective was to analyze the coping strategies adopted by female sex workers in the face of stressors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative study supported by Systems and Coping theories. An in-depth interview was carried out with 30 sex workers from the Alto Sertão Produtivo Baiano between September and October 2020. The narratives were submitted to the resources of hermeneutics-dialectic to orga-nize the categories. Four categories make reference to the system’s stressors: negative feelings of fear, anxiety and difficulties in sleeping with the uncertainties in the face of the pandemic;concern about personal and family support;irritability in the face of conflicts;anxieties and insecurities with working conditions. Five categories allude to cop-ing: strategies focused on the problem (pandemic);reframing and regulation of emotions;spirituality and religiosity;support networks and social sup-port;use of medications. Stressors arise as a result of sexual service experiences combined with the pandemic situation with reduced customers and income, leading to the development of negative feelings and emotions. However, coping strategies are diverse and they women made effort to deal with problems and to balance their mental health.

Sensitive Condition of the Tesearch Experience During the Pandemic

The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic required several readjustments of daily life and work, including redefining the paths of ongoing research. For researchers who needed to make approximations and interactions with field subjects, these changes also involved emotional and ethical accommodations. In this sense, the objective of this article is to discuss the research experience of two doctoral students during isolation. We use the concepts of sensitive themes, sensitive conditions, and experience to build the theoretical framework and methodology of the duoethnography for the production of information and the construction of dialogue. The analysis of narratives allowed organizing the plot of the experiences lived by the doctoral students during the pandemic, revealing that expectations, frustrations, and loss of meaning are not externalities but part of the research experience. The recognition of the researcher's human condition helped to understand the sensitive condition of the research experience.

Long term left ventricular impairment after SARS-COV2 infection

Introduction: The impact of acute infection by SARS-COV2 on the cardiovascular system has been previously reported in the literature, with a higher propensity in patients with more serious pattern of disease and pro-inflammatory status. Nevertheless, the long-term burden and sequels of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system is still unknown. Purpose: To evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on left ventricular function in patients with severe clinical presentation requiring intensive care hospitalization. Methods: This was a single-center observational, prospective study which included patients requiring admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to COVID-19 infection from January to November 2020. All discharged patients were contacted to perform a clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluation and those who accepted were included on the protocol. Baseline and clinical characteristics were collected from clinical reports. For the global longitudinal strain (GLS) analysis all patients with significant wall motion abnormalities and valvular cardiopathy were excluded. Statistical analysis was performed with Mann-Whitney and a safety cut-off was established with ROC curve analysis. Results: A total of 43 patients were included (mean age 64 ± 12, 67.4% males). During SARS-COV2 infection 49% presented with severe ARDS and 51% with moderate, 35% required invasive mechanical ventilation, 14% noninvasive mechanical ventilation and 52% with high nasal flow cannula. On the follow-up analysis, fatigue was the most reported in symptom (52% patients) and the majority did not present other signs or symptoms suggestive of heart failure, with the mean NT-proBNP of 49 ± 389 pg/dL. The standard ECG and echocardiogram did not show significant changes with a mean LVEF of 58 ± 7.8 and mean TAPSE of 21 ± 4. The strain analysis showed low value of GLS (mean GLS of -17.14 ± 2.36) for a reference cut-off of -18%, suggesting subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in this subset of patients with preserved ejection fraction. Maximum CPR values during ICU did not correlate either with the extent of disease evolvement in CT (p= NS) or ARDS severity (p= NS). Nevertheless, maximum CPR correlated significantly with GLS reduction (R = 0.44, p = 0.019). A CPR value higher than iger30mg/ dL had 100% specificity for GLS reduction and a cut-off of 14gm/dL reported a sensitivity of 65% and specificity pf 75% for reduction in GLS. Conclusion: In our study, we reported subclinical impairment in left ventricular function detected with global longitudinal strain after serious infection with SARS-COV2. The detected myocardial dysfunction was related with higher inflammatory as expressed by CPR values. Longterm monitoring of these patients should be undertaken in order to timely detect late complications.

Androgen-deprivation therapy and cognitive decline in the NEON-PC prospective study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has been associated with cognitive decline, but results are conflicting. This study describes changes in cognitive performance in patients with prostate cancer, according to ADT, during the first year after prostate cancer diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with prostate cancer treated at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto (n = 366) were evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), before treatment and after 1 year. All baseline evaluations were performed before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and 69.7% of the 1-year assessments were completed after the first lockdown. Cognitive decline was defined as the decrease in MoCA from baseline to the 1-year evaluation below 1.5 standard deviations of the distribution of changes in the whole cohort. Participants scoring below age- and education-specific normative reference values in the MoCA were considered to have cognitive impairment. Age- and education-adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were computed for the association between ADT and cognitive outcomes. RESULTS: Mean MoCA scores increased from baseline to the 1-year evaluation (22.3 versus 22.8, P < 0.001). Cognitive decline was more frequent in the ADT group, and even more after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (aOR 6.81 versus 1.93, P for interaction = 0.233). The 1-year cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment was 6.9% (9.1% before and 3.7% after the pandemic onset), which was higher among patients receiving ADT, but only after the pandemic (aOR 5.53 versus 0.49, P for interaction = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: ADT was associated with worse cognitive performance of patients with prostate cancer, mostly among those evaluated after the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Segmentation of covid-19 lesions in CT images

The worldwide pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has encouraged the development of multiple computer-aided diagnosis systems to automate daily clinical tasks, such as abnormality detection and classification. Among these tasks, the segmentation of COVID lesions is of high interest to the scientific community, enabling further lesion characterization. Automating the segmentation process can be a useful strategy to provide a fast and accurate second opinion to the physicians, and thus increase the reliability of the diagnosis and disease stratification. The current work explores a CNN-based approach to segment multiple COVID lesions. It includes the implementation of a U-Net structure with a ResNet34 encoder able to deal with the highly imbalanced nature of the problem, as well as the great variability of the COVID lesions, namely in terms of size, shape, and quantity. This approach yields a Dice score of 64.1%, when evaluated on the publicly available COVID-19-20 Lung CT Lesion Segmentation GrandChallenge data set. © 2021 IEEE

LEADERSHIP AND NEW CHALLENGES OF HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted Hospital Service Management, as well as the performance and role of leaders in the face of this new epidemic. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of factors associated with the role of hospital managers' leadership before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The databases SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Google Scholar, classic books on Hospital Management and the CAPES Portal were employed in a search for articles that evaluated Hospital Management and the performance of the leadership, before and during the current pandemic moment. The pandemic evidenced a global crisis, requiring a transformation in the structure and work process of health units, highlighting the need for good planning to face this epidemic. The research highlights the fundamental role of leadership in management for obtaining good results: the hospital administrator must be assertive in making decisions and have good internal and external communication. It is concluded that, beyond the routine actions, it is necessary to have specialized training, innovative vision and willingness to face potential challenges and abrupt adaptations, in the face of epidemic and pandemic episodes.

Stent-Save a Life international survey on the practice of primary coronary angioplasty during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient admissions with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and primary coronary angioplasty (PPCI) in countries participating in the Stent-Save a Life (SSL) global initiative. Methods and results: We conducted a multicenter, observational survey to collect data on patient admissions for ACS, STEMI and PPCI in the SSL participating countries throughout a period during the COVID-19 outbreak (March and April 2020) compared with the equivalent period in 2019. From the 32 member countries of the SSL global initiative, 17 accepted to participate in the survey (3 from Africa, 5 from Asia, 6 from Europe and 3 from Latin America (LATAM)). We observed a global reduction of 27,5% and 20,0% in admissions with ACS and STEMI respectively. The decrease in PPCI was 26,7% (Figure 1). This trend was observed in all countries except two. In these two countries, the pandemic peaked later than in the other countries. Conclusions: This survey shows that the COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a significant reduction of hospital admissions for ACS and STEMI as well as a reduction of PPCI, which can be explained by both patient and system related factors.

Did organizational models and designs of end-of-life care in burn intensive care units change during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Professionals' views and experiences

Background: Burns are a global public health problem, accounting for around 300,000 deaths annually. 25% of patients aged 45-65 with severe burns die. Given the changing environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, health services, including burn intensive care units (BurnICUs), were redesigned to be most effective. Aim: To explore organizational models and designs of end-of-life (EOL) care in BurnICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Qualitative study using in-depth interviews. All 5 BurnICUs reference centres across Portugal were invited;3 participated. 15 professionals (12 nurses;3 physicians) were interviewed after the first wave of the pandemic (July-October 2020), until reaching theoretical saturation. Analysis: inductive thematic analysis. Results: Five themes emerged and divided in sub-themes: (i) Risk of infection/sepsis and strict visiting procedures (flexibility, by-passing visiting restrictions;struggle with visiting restrictions;videoconferencing);(ii) Hampered consultation model (specialist consultation and interventions from other professionals were impeded);(iii) Difficulties in case management (physicians on call);(iv) Palliative care (PC) not included;and (v) BurnICUs were reorganized. Discussion: Organization design refers to the way in which the building blocks of organizations are (re)arranged to improve effectiveness and adaptive capacity. Findings show that decisions were made to adapt BurnICUs both to the challenges and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to the needs of critically burned patients. Tasks, rules, procedures and communication channels were reorganized. Conclusions: BurnICUs were redesigned as organizational needs changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite strict visiting procedures, strategies were implemented to meet patients and families' needs at the EOL. As before the pandemic, palliative care was not involved in EOL care. Findings show the need to further explore PC involvement in EOL care in BurnICUs.

Predictors of mortality of covid-19 in chronic hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the care of patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD). It has been reported that older adults and those with comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease are prone to develop severe disease and poorer outcomes. By virtue of their average old age, multiple comorbidities, immunosuppression and frequent contact with other patients in dialysis facilities, chronic HD patients are at particular risk for severe COVID-19 infection. The aim of this study was to compare clinical presentation, laboratory and radiologic data and outcomes between HD and non-HD COVID-19 patients and find possible risk factors for mortality on HD patients. METHOD: A single center retrospective cohort study including patients on HD hospitalized with a laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection, from March 1st to December 31st of 2020 and matched them to non-dialysis patients (non-HD) (1:1). Data regarding patient baseline characteristics, symptoms, laboratory and radiologic results at presentation were collected, as well as their outcomes. Categorical variables are presented as frequencies and percentages, and continuous variables as means or medians for variables with skewed distributions. A paired Student's t-test was performed on parametric continuous values or Mann-Whitney for non-parametric continuous variables. Chi-squared test was performed for comparing categorical variables. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for mortality on HD patients. A p-value of less than 0,05 indicated statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients HD patients were included, 70,6% male, mean age of 76,5 years, median time of dialysis of 3,0 years. Among them 85,3% were hypertensive, 47,1% diabetic, 47,1% had cardiovascular disease, 30,6% pulmonary chronic disease and 23,5% cancer. The most frequent symptoms were fever (67,6%), shortness of breath (61,8%) and cough (52,9%). At admission, 55,9% of patients needed oxygen supply, one required mechanic ventilation and was admitted to intensive care unit. Regarding laboratory data, the most common features were lymphopenia in 58,9% (median-795/uL), elevated LDH in 64,7% (median-255 U/L), raised C-reactive protein in 97,1% (median-6,3 mg/dlL, raised D-dimer in 95,8% (median 1,7 ng/mL), and all patients presented high ferritin (median 1658 ng/mL) and elevated Troponin T (median 130ng/mL). The majority presented with radiologic changes, particularly bilateral infiltrates in 29,4%. Concerning clinical outcomes, the median hospitalization time was 11 days and 13 patients (38,2%) developed bacterial superinfection. Mortality rate was 32,4%. When matched to 34 non-HD patients there was no statistical significant differences in sex, age and comorbidities. The HD group had a tendency to more ventilator support need (p=0,051), higher ferritin and troponin levels (p=<0,001 for both), whereas the non-HD group presented with greater levels of transaminases (p= 0,017). There was o significant difference in hospitalization time (median of 11 vs 7 days, p=0,222) neither in mortality (median of 32,4 vs 35,3%, p=0,798). When the logistic regression was performed, only bacterial superinfection was a predictor for mortality on hemodialysis patients (p=0,004). CONCLUSION: Our study compared outcomes for COVID-19 patients on chronic HD to non-dialysis patients and showed no difference in hospitalization time nor in death rate. In spite of these results, the mortality in patients on chronic HD is still not negligible, with up to 32% of in-hospital mortality. Bacterial superinfection is a predictive risk factor for mortality. Hence the importance of interventions to mitigate the burden of COVID-19 in these patients, by preventing its spread, particularly in hemodialysis centers.

Infection by sars-cov-2 in hematologic patients: An unicentric retrospective study

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed several constrains in the medical practice, especially in hematologic patients (pts) where a higher mortality rate is expected. In our center strict measures were implemented earlier, with the use of personal protective equipment, hand wash at all times, internal separated circuits, frequent prophylactic tests, teleconsultation and rapid isolation of positive cases. However, data is still limited and risk factors for increased susceptibility remain unclear. Aims: Characterize our pts with COVID-19 regarding the type of hematologic disease, the respective treatment, infection severity and identification of any possible risk factors that may have impact in the outcome. Methods: Pts with a positive quantitative RT-PCR from nasopharyngeal swab between 18/03/2020 and 02/02/2021 were identified. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and clinical characteristics were retrospectively collected. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney-U tests were performed to identify statistical differences between groups and logistic binary regression to assess predictive risk factors. Severity of illness was defined by level of care [ambulatory, general inpatient wards and intensive care unit (ICU)], need for respiratory support, incidence of thrombotic events, acute kidney injury and/or death. Active hematologic treatment was defined as therapy within 6 months of COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: A total of 81 pts were identified, with a median age of 61 years (19-88), 52% were male, 63% had an ECOG PS 0 and 69% had at least one comorbidity (hypertension 36%, dyslipidemia 21%, cardiovascular disease 21%, diabetes mellitus 14% and pulmonary disease 11%). Regarding the hematologic disease, 83% had a neoplastic malignancy (non-Hodgkin lymphoma 30%, myeloproliferative neoplasms 16%, acute myeloid leukemia 11% and multiple myeloma 11%), 64% were in active treatment and 43% had active disease. Concerning the COVID-19 infection, 46% required hospital admission among which 65% needed respiratory support and 9% admitted to an ICU. Median overall survival (OS) was not reached (84% at 1 month) and the mortality rate was 17%, mainly in pts with active disease and neoplastic malignancy. Non-survival pts had a lower hemoglobin level (8,3g/dL vs 12g/dL;p-value 0,016), a higher CRP (218mg/L vs 22mg/L;p-value 0,041), acute renal failure (36% vs 6%;p-value 0,014), more need of respiratory support (71% vs 27%;p-value 0,004) and mechanical ventilation (21% vs 5%;p-value 0,022). There were no statistical differences regarding age, absolute lymphocyte count, platelet count and LDH. Regression analysis revealed hemoglobin level (p-value 0,026), CRP (p-value 0,05) and respiratory support (p-value 0,003) as predictive factors for death. In our pts there were no thrombotic events. Summary/Conclusion: Nearly half of the pts were admitted to the hospital and discharged. In our analysis low hemoglobin level, high CRP and respiratory support were associated with poorer survival, however, given our small sample, these findings need to be confirmed. Contrary to most of the published results, the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases was surprisingly low, with only 81 cases in 11 months, with a mortality rate similar to the general population and lower than expected. We believe that implementing early and rigorous protective measures as well as create self-awareness may be the key to improve mortality rate in this highly susceptible population.

Wells and Geneva decision rules to predict pulmonary embolism: Can we use them in COVID-19 patients?

Introduction: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a recognized complication of SARS-COV2 infection due to hypercoagulability. Before the COVID era, the need for computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to rule out PE was determined by clinical probability, based on Wells and Geneva scores, in association with D-dimer measurements. However, patients with SARS-COV2 infection have a pro-thrombotic and pro-inflammatory state which may compromise the usefulness of these algorithms to select patients for CTPA. Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of the Wells and Geneva scores to predict PE in patients with SARS-COV2 infection. Methods: Retrospective study of consecutive outpatients with SARS-COV2 infection proved by positive PCR who underwent CTPA due to suspected PE. The Wells and Geneva scores were calculated and the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve was measured. Results: We enrolled 235 patients (61% males, mean age 69.10 ± 16.69 years) and the incidence of pulmonary embolism was 15% (35 patients). In patients with PE, emboli were located mainly in segmental arteries (60%) and bilaterally (46%). Patients with PE were older (mean age 75.06 ± 2.23 vs. 68.06 ± 1.21 years, p = 0.022), and did not differ in sex or risk factors for thromboembolic diseases from the non- PE group. Patients with PE had higher D-dimer levels (median 15.41 mg/dl, IQR 1.17 - 20.00) compared to patients without PE (median 5.99 mg/dl, IQR 0.47 - 2.82, p < 0.001). There was no statically significant difference between the average Wells score in patients with PE and without PE (1.04 and 0.89 respectively, p = 0.733) and the AUC demonstrated that the Wells score had no discriminatory power (AUC = 0.52). Within patients with PE, 19 patients had a Wells score of zero. Regarding the Geneva score, there was also no difference between the average score in patients with and without PE (4.20 vs 3.93 respectively, p = 0.420). AUC for Geneva score was 0.54. Clinical probability combined with D-dimer measurement had a 100% sensitivity for both Wells and Geneva scores, but a specificity of 10% and 11%, respectively. Conclusion: PE diagnosis may be challenging in patients with SARS-COV2 infection since both conditions may have similar signs and symptoms and may be associated with increased D-dimers. According to our results, traditional clinical prediction scores have little discriminatory power in these patients and a higher D-dimer cut-off should be considered to better select patients for CTPA to minimize radiation exposure and contrast-related complications in COVID-19 patients.