RESUMEN
Background: During COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions to in-person visiting of caregivers to patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) were applied in many countries. Our aim was to describe the variations in communication and family visiting policies in Italian ICUs during the pandemic. Methods: A secondary analysis from the COVISIT international survey was conducted, focusing on data from Italy. Results: Italian ICUs provided 118 (18%) responses out of 667 responses collected worldwide. A total of 12 Italian ICUs were at the peak of COVID-19 admissions at the time of the survey and 42/118 had 90% or more of patients admitted to ICU affected by COVID-19. During the COVID-19 peak, 74% of Italian ICUs adopted a no-in-person-visiting policy. This remained the most common strategy (67%) at the time of the survey. Information to families was provided by regular phone calls (81% in Italy versus 47% for the rest of the world). Virtual visiting was available for 69% and most commonly performed using devices provided by the ICU (71% in Italy versus 36% outside Italy). Conclusion: Our study showed that restrictions to the ICU applied during the COVID-19 pandemic were still in use at the time of the survey. The main means of communication with caregivers were telephone and virtual meetings.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: During COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions to in-person visiting of caregivers to patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) were applied in many countries. Our aim was to describe the variations in communication and family visiting policies in Italian ICUs during the pandemic. METHODS: A secondary analysis from the COVISIT international survey was conducted, focusing on data from Italy. RESULTS: Italian ICUs provided 118 (18%) responses out of 667 responses collected worldwide. A total of 12 Italian ICUs were at the peak of COVID-19 admissions at the time of the survey and 42/118 had 90% or more of patients admitted to ICU affected by COVID-19. During the COVID-19 peak, 74% of Italian ICUs adopted a no-in-person-visiting policy. This remained the most common strategy (67%) at the time of the survey. Information to families was provided by regular phone calls (81% in Italy versus 47% for the rest of the world). Virtual visiting was available for 69% and most commonly performed using devices provided by the ICU (71% in Italy versus 36% outside Italy). CONCLUSION: Our study showed that restrictions to the ICU applied during the COVID-19 pandemic were still in use at the time of the survey. The main means of communication with caregivers were telephone and virtual meetings.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the occurrence of bloodstream infections in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and the related clinical consequences. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the pooled occurrence of BSIs among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and mortality of this patient population. METHODS: A systematic search was performed on PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to 19 April 2021. The primary outcome was the occurrence of BSIs among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The secondary outcome was mortality at the longest available follow-up. RESULTS: Forty-six studies met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 42,694 patients evaluated. The estimated occurrence of BSIs was 7.3% (95% CI 4.7-1.1%) among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, with a mortality rate of 41% (95% CI 30%-52.8%). The subgroup analysis conducted on patients admitted to ICU provided an estimated occurrence of 29.6% (95% CI 21.7%-38.8%). A higher occurrence of BSI was observed in patients with COVID-19, in comparison with patients without COVID-19 (OR 2.77; 95% CI 1.53-5.02; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis estimated the occurrence of BSIs among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 at around 7%. A four-times higher occurrence was estimated among patients admitted to ICU.