The Effectiveness of NIV and CPAP Training on the Job in COVID-19 Acute Care Wards: A Nurses' Self-Assessment of Skills.

Background: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in COVID-19 patients outside of intensive care unit (ICU) settings was a feasible support during the pandemic outbreak. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an "on the job" NIV training program provided to 66 nurses working in 3 COVID-19 wards in an Italian university hospital. Methods: A quasi-experimental longitudinal before−after study was designed. The NIV Team education program, provided by expert ICU nurses, included: 3 h sessions of training on the job during work-shifts about the management of helmet-continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) Venturi systems, and NIV with oronasal and full-face masks. An eleven-item "brief skills self-report tool" was administered before and after the program to explore the perception of NIV education program attendees about their level of skills. Results: In total, 59 nurses responded to the questionnaire. There was an improvement in the skill levels of the management of Helmet-CPAP (median before training 2, inter-quartile range (IQR) 0−6; median after training 8, IQR 3−9; p < 0.0001), and mask-NIV (median before training 2, IQR 0−6; median after training 8, IQR 3−9; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Training on the job performed by expert ICU nurses can be a valuable and fast means to implement new Helmet-CPAP and mask-NIV skills outside of ICUs.

The end of life of patients with COVID-19 in intensive care unit and the stress level on their family members: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hospital visits were suspended and video calls were offered to connect patients with their family members, especially toward the end of life (EoL). AIM: The primary aim was to describe EoL care for COVID-19 patients dying in an intensive care unit (ICU). The secondary aim was to explore whether making video calls and allowing visits was associated with lower death-related stress in family members. DESIGN: Single centre cross-sectional study. The setting was the ICU of a COVID-19 center in northern Italy, during the first year of the pandemic. Data on patients who died in the ICU were collected; death-related stress on their family members was measured using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The statistical association was tested by means of logistic regression. RESULTS: The study sample included 70 patients and 56 family members. All patients died with mechanical ventilation, hydration, nutrition, analgesia and sedation ongoing. Resuscitation procedures were performed in 5/70 patients (7.1%). Only 6/56 (10.7%) of the family members interviewed had visited their loved ones in the ICU and 28/56 (50%) had made a video call. EoL video calls were judged useful by 53/56 family members (94.6%) but all (56/56, 100%) wished they could have visited the patient. High-stress levels were found in 38/56 family members (67.9%), regardless of whether they were allowed ICU access or made a video call. Compared with other degrees of kinship, patients' offspring were less likely to show a positive IES-R score (odds ratio [OR] 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05 to 0.89). CONCLUSIONS: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients died without their family members at the bedside while on life-sustaining treatment. Stress levels were high in most family members, especially in patients' spouses. Video calls or ICU visits were judged favourably by family members but insufficient to alleviate death-related stress. RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: During a pandemic, ICU access by patients' family members should be considered, particularly as the time of death approaches. Although generally appreciated by family members, EoL video calls should be arranged together with other measures to alleviate death-related stress, especially for the patient's spouse.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 Variants Is Associated with Different Long COVID Phenotypes.

COVID-19 has been associated with a broad range of long-term sequelae, commonly referred to as "long-COVID" or "post-COVID-19" syndrome. Despite an increasing body of literature, long COVID remains poorly characterized. We retrospectively analysed data from electronic medical records of patients admitted to the post-COVID-19 outpatient service of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy, between June 2020 and June 2021, 4-12 weeks after hospital discharge. A total of 428 patients, 41% women, median age 64 years, underwent a follow-up visit a median 53 days after hospital discharge. Overall, 76% patients reported at least one persistent symptom, including dyspnoea (37%), chronic fatigue (36%), insomnia (16%), visual disorders (13%) and brain fog (13%). Increasing oxygen support (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8), use of immunosuppressants (OR 6.4, 95% CI 1.5-28) and female sex (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.9) were associated with a higher risk of long COVID symptoms. Comparison between symptomatic patients infected in the period March-December 2020 (prevalent circulation of wild-type SARS-CoV-2) with those infected in the period January-April 2021 (prevalent circulation of B.1.1.7 Alpha variant) showed a significant modification in the pattern of symptoms belonging to the neurological and cognitive/emotional categories. Our findings confirmed shortness of breath and chronic fatigue as the most frequent long COVID manifestations, while female sex and severe COVID-19 course were the main risk factors for developing lingering symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 variants may induce different long COVID phenotypes, possibly due to changes in cell tropism and differences in viral-host interaction.

Quality of Life of Pediatric Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: In a public health emergency, the psychological stress of nursing staff should be assessed, and nurses who cared for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients were constantly under pressure. Currently, frontline health care workers are experiencing mental health issues. The personal quality of life is directly related to the working environment, especially at this moment, when nursing could be a highly stressful and emotionally draining job. OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the primary objectives of the study were to describe the quality of life, posttraumatic stress disorder, and self-efficacy and to identify any associated factors of pediatric critical care nurses. This study is a multicenter cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data were collected between February and May 2021 from pediatric critical care nurses. The following instruments were used: the Nursing Quality of Life Scale, the Nursing Profession Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Impact of Event Scale. RESULTS: One hundred twelve nurses participated in this study with a 40% of response rate. Data suggest a better global perception of quality of life by male subjects (F = 6.65, P = .011). The nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients reported a lower quality of social life (F = 4.09, P = .045); furthermore, the nurses who had clinically vulnerable people in their families reported a worse quality of physical life (F = 4.37, P = .045). Approximately 50% of nurses reported sleep disturbances, and 37% reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, especially female nurses (F = 8.55, P = .04). CONCLUSION: According to this study, female nurses were more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, findings also highlighted a lower quality of social life for those with clinically vulnerable relatives may be due to a self-limitation of interactions with other people. Finally, sleep disturbances were prevalent, potentially affecting nurses' mental health and performance.

Intentional Rounding versus Standard of Care for Patients Hospitalised in Internal Medicine Wards: Results from a Cluster-Randomised Nation-Based Study.

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of Intentional Rounding, a regular-based proactive patient monitoring, on falls and pressure ulcers in internal medicine units. This is a cluster-randomised controlled study, where units were assigned (1:1) to Intentional Rounding (intervention group) or Standard of Care (control group). The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of falls and new pressure ulcers. These events were considered separately as secondary endpoints, together with the number of bell calls and the evaluation of patient satisfaction. Primary analyses were carried out on the modified intention-to-treat population (hospitalisation of at least 10 days). Recruitment occurred between October 2019 and March 2020, at which time the study was prematurely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enrolment totalled 1822 patients at 26 sites; 779 patients were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. The intervention group had a lower risk of falls (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-0.78; p = 0.03). There were no statistical differences in new pressure ulcers or the cumulative incidence of both adverse events. Mean bell calls for each patient were 15.4 ± 24.1 in the intervention group and 13.7 ± 20.5 in the control group (p = 0.38). Additionally, patient satisfaction in the intervention group was almost at the maximum level. Our study supports the usefulness of Intentional Rounding in a complex and vulnerable population such as that hospitalised in internal medicine units.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients with COVID-19 at 3 months from hospital discharge

Aims The long-term COVID-19 effects are currently unknown. Whether and for how long symptoms extend beyond the acute phase of the disease is unresolved. Aim of this study was to determine the functional capacity of COVID-19 survivors by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and describe its association with dyspnoea, the most frequent symptom after discharge from a tertiary care hospital. Methods and results All COVID-19 patients discharged from our tertiary care institution were enrolled in a prospective follow-up study which would assess clinical, instrumental and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 survivors at 3 months from hospital discharge (i.e. long-covid). To limit bias in dyspnoea quantification, patients hospitalized in residential care facilities with severe cognitive impairment/disability, ischaemic cardiopathy, and/or heart failure and severe respiratory disease (i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) were excluded. Clinical evaluation included: peripheral blood samples including inflammatory cytokines, pulmonary function testing (functional respiratory and 6 min-walking test), lung ultrasound, ECG recording, and a comprehensive echocardiographic exam. All patients with peripheral oxygen desaturation at 6 min-walking test (SpO2 < 92%), dyspnoea and with a history of hospitalization in critical care settings were referred for CPET. Dyspnoea was classified with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. From June 2020 to May 2021, 198 patients were enrolled;overall, 42% of patients presented with dyspnoea at 3 months from hospital discharge with no difference according to disease severity on hospital admission (P = 0.233). Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic parameters were similar between patients with and without dyspnoea. At CPET, 61% of patients complaining dyspnoea showed a %peak VO2 lower than 85% of the predicted value, associated with a lower exercising tolerance and duration and with a globally reduced equivalent metabolic load (METS: 5.3 ± 1.2 vs. 6.6 ± 1.6, P = 0.003). Mean anaerobic threshold was lower for symptomatic patients (46 + 13 vs. 50 + 10, P = 0.03). At multivariable logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age, number of comorbidities, and body mass index, only %peak VO2 (HR: 0.973;95% CI: 0.948–0.998) and male gender (HR: 0.548;95% CI: 0.328–0.999) were associated with dyspnoea. Conclusions At 3-months, almost 1-in-2 patients discharged for COVID-19 pneumonia presented with dyspnoea, irrespective of disease severity. Among patients undergoing CPET, only %peak VO2 and gender were associated with symptoms suggesting a potential systemic inflammatory-mediated response and important gender related differences for the long-covid.

Factors associated with persistence of symptoms 1 year after COVID-19: A longitudinal, prospective phone-based interview follow-up cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the persistence of symptoms compatible with COVID-19 in a real-file prospective cohort of patients at 12 months from hospital discharge. METHODS: Longitudinal, prospective, single-center, cohort telephone follow-up (FU) study in a Tertiary Care Hospital. All consecutive patients >18 years admitted for COVID-19 were prospectively enrolled in a telephone FU program aimed at monitoring symptoms after 1,3,6,9 and 12 months from hospital discharge. The survey screened for somatic (fatigue, dyspnea, dyspnea, palpitations, cough, chest pain, abdominal pain, ageusia, anosmia, bowel symptoms) and emotional symptoms (insomnia, confusion, altered sense of reality, loss of appetite, fear, and depression) and frailty. Only patients with 12 months FU data were analyzed (N=254). Prevalence and factors associated with symptoms were the main outcomes. Frailty was defined by the presence of ≥3 indicators: weakness, slowness/impaired mobility, weight-loss, low physical activity, and exhaustion. RESULTS: At 12 months, 40.5% of patients reported at least one symptom. The most common somatic ones were fatigue, exertional dyspnea, cough, bowel complaints while the most common psycho-emotional were insomnia, confusion, fear, and depression. Age, gender, gender, frailty, multiple symptoms at baseline and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were associated with symptoms persistence. Furthermore, frailty, COPD and multiple symptoms at baseline were associated with increased risk of somatic symptoms at 12 months, while age and gender were associated with emotional ones. CONCLUSIONS: Burden of the long COVID-19 symptoms decreased over time but remained as high as 40% at 12 months with important gender and functional differences, highlighting potential patient categories who may benefit from specific follow up strategies.

The positive side of the coin: Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has taught us how much Telemedicine is useful as standard of care procedure in real life.

Patients and health workers were at high risk of infection during the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic lockdown. For this reason, other medical and clinical approaches such as Telemedicine were necessary. Despite Telemedicine was born before COVID-19, the pandemic was the opportunity to accelerate a process already underway for at least a decade and to blow all the barriers away. Our aim is to describe the experience of Telemedicine during and immediately after the first lockdown to assure the follow-up in a 'virtual' outpatient clinic dedicated to Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) and to give an overview of Telemedicine in the rheumatology field. We retrospectively evaluated the patient flow to our rheumatology division from March to September 2020 and, in accordance with local restrictions, three periods were selected. In the 1st period, 96.96% of the outpatient clinic cases were shifted to Telemedicine; these decreased to 52.45% in the 2nd period, while the 3rd period was characterized by the return of the patients at the clinic (97.6%). Diagnostic procedures were postponed during the 1st period, reduced drastically during the 2nd and performed regularly during the third period. Intravenous infusions were maintained as much as possible during the three periods, to assure therapeutic continuity. Shifting stable patients to Telemedicine has the potential to allow continuity of care, while reducing the risk of contagion during a pandemic. In the next future, the integration of Telemedicine as standard of care for specific clinical applications might assure assistance for RMDs patients also in non-pandemic conditions.

Predicting Mortality Risk in Older Hospitalized Persons With COVID-19: A Comparison of the COVID-19 Mortality Risk Score with Frailty and Disability.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association of pre-morbid functional status [Barthel Index (BI)] and frailty [modified Frailty Index (mFI)] with in-hospital mortality and a risk scoring system developed for COVID-19 in patients ≥75 years diagnosed with COVID-19. DESIGN: Retrospective bicentric observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data on consecutive patients aged ≥75 years admitted with COVID-19 at 2 Italian tertiary care centers were collected from February 22 to May 30, 2020. METHODS: Overall, 221 consecutive patients with COVID-19 aged ≥75 years were admitted to 2 hospitals in the study period and were included in the analysis. Clinical, functional (BI), frailty (mFI), laboratory, and imaging data were collected. Mortality risk on admission was assessed with the COVID-19 Mortality Risk Score (COVID-19 MRS), a dedicated score developed for hospital triage. RESULTS: Ninety-seven (43.9%) patients died. BI, frailty, age, dementia, respiratory rate, Pao2/Fio2 ratio, creatinine, and platelet count were associated with mortality. Analysis of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) indicated that the predictivity of age was modest and the combination of BI, mFI, and COVID-19 MRS yielded the highest prediction accuracy (AUCCOVID-19MRS+BI+mFI vs AUCAge: 0.87 vs 0.59; difference: +0.28, lower bound-upper bound: 0.17-0.34, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Premorbid BI and mFI are associated with mortality and improved the accuracy of the COVID-19 MRS. Functional status may prove useful to guide clinical management of older individuals.

Clinical and Laboratory Follow-up After Hospitalization for COVID-19 at an Italian Tertiary Care Center.

We evaluated 100 postacute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients a median (interquartile range) of 60 (48-67) days after discharge from the Careggi University Hospital, Italy. Eighty-four (84%) had at least 1 persistent symptom, irrespective of COVID-19 severity. A considerable number of hospital readmissions (10%) and/or infectious diseases (14%) during the postdischarge period were reported.