Systemic thrombolysis in patients with acute stroke and active cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cancer patients frequently have concomitant cerebrovascular diseases, which significantly worsen their prognosis. Prospective studies validating intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) safety profile in patients with acute ischemic stroke and active cancer are still lacking. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate IVT's efficacy and safety profile in acute ischemic stroke patients with comorbid active cancer. We included in a meta-analysis all relevant published studies, including patients with acute ischemic stroke with or without active cancer and receiving IVT, according to recommendations for IVT treatment for acute ischemic stroke. The primary outcomes were: any intracerebral hemorrhage, all-cause mortality, and good functional outcome reported as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 2 at the end of the scheduled follow-up period. We included 11 studies in the meta-analysis. IVT was not associated with a significant increase in the incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage (OR 1.35; 95% CI 0.85-2.14; I2 76%), nor with a significant increase in death for any cause (OR 1.26; 95% CI 0.91-1.75; I2 71%); furthermore, IVT did not influence mRS between cancer and non-active cancer stroke patients (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.35-1.49; I2 59%). IVT seems safe and effective in patients with ischemic stroke and concomitant cancer. Due to the low overall quality of the evidence, high-quality randomized controlled trials with adequate sample sizes are needed.

Simple Parameters from Complete Blood Count Predict In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical course of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly heterogenous, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal forms. The identification of clinical and laboratory predictors of poor prognosis may assist clinicians in monitoring strategies and therapeutic decisions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we retrospectively assessed the prognostic value of a simple tool, the complete blood count, on a cohort of 664 patients (F 260; 39%, median age 70 (56-81) years) hospitalized for COVID-19 in Northern Italy. We collected demographic data along with complete blood cell count; moreover, the outcome of the hospital in-stay was recorded. RESULTS: At data cut-off, 221/664 patients (33.3%) had died and 453/664 (66.7%) had been discharged. Red cell distribution width (RDW) (χ 2 10.4; p < 0.001), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NL) ratio (χ 2 7.6; p = 0.006), and platelet count (χ 2 5.39; p = 0.02), along with age (χ 2 87.6; p < 0.001) and gender (χ 2 17.3; p < 0.001), accurately predicted in-hospital mortality. Hemoglobin levels were not associated with mortality. We also identified the best cut-off for mortality prediction: a NL ratio > 4.68 was characterized by an odds ratio for in-hospital mortality (OR) = 3.40 (2.40-4.82), while the OR for a RDW > 13.7% was 4.09 (2.87-5.83); a platelet count > 166,000/µL was, conversely, protective (OR: 0.45 (0.32-0.63)). CONCLUSION: Our findings arise the opportunity of stratifying COVID-19 severity according to simple lab parameters, which may drive clinical decisions about monitoring and treatment.

The Hard Lessons Learned by the COVID-19 Epidemic in Italy: Rethinking the Role of the National Health Care Service?

The dramatic events precipitated by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus pandemic have highlighted the limitations and contradictions of our country's current health care delivery model plagued by the closure of healthcare delivery structures, staff reductions, privatizations and inadequate funding which have been affecting the Italian National Health System during the past 10 years. The COVID-19 epidemic has a hefty bill: thousands of deaths - mainly elderly, hospitals overwhelmed, residential assistance structures reaching their limits, sick people left alone and uncared in homes, the disruption in life habits and an altered daily way of living never experienced before; all have contributed into making the ongoing tragedy even more painful. Herewith, we present and discuss the information and reflections from our experiences and postulate the rethinking of the established socio-health policies not only in Italy but also in other western countries which have failed to curtail the epidemic via conventional management approaches.

Clinical outcome with different doses of low-molecular-weight heparin in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

A pro-thrombotic milieu and a higher risk of thrombotic events were observed in patients with CoronaVirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Accordingly, recent data suggested a beneficial role of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), but the optimal dosage of this treatment is unknown. We evaluated the association between prophylactic vs. intermediate-to-fully anticoagulant doses of enoxaparin and in-hospital adverse events in patients with COVID-19. We retrospectively included 436 consecutive patients admitted in three Italian hospitals. Outcome according to the use of prophylactic (4000 IU) vs. higher (> 4000 IU) daily dosage of enoxaparin was evaluated. The primary end-point was in-hospital death. Secondary outcome measures were in-hospital cardiovascular death, venous thromboembolism, new-onset acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and mechanical ventilation. A total of 287 patients (65.8%) were treated with the prophylactic enoxaparin regimen and 149 (34.2%) with a higher dosing regimen. The use of prophylactic enoxaparin dose was associated with a similar incidence of all-cause mortality (25.4% vs. 26.9% with the higher dose; OR at multivariable analysis, including the propensity score: 0.847, 95% CI 0.400-0.1.792; p = 0.664). In the prophylactic dose group, a significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular death (OR 0.165), venous thromboembolism (OR 0.067), new-onset ARDS (OR 0.454) and mechanical intubation (OR 0.150) was observed. In patients hospitalized for COVID-19, the use of a prophylactic dosage of enoxaparin appears to be associated with similar in-hospital overall mortality compared to higher doses. These findings require confirmation in a randomized, controlled study.

Fatality rate and predictors of mortality in an Italian cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Clinical features and natural history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) differ widely among different countries and during different phases of the pandemia. Here, we aimed to evaluate the case fatality rate (CFR) and to identify predictors of mortality in a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to three hospitals of Northern Italy between March 1 and April 28, 2020. All these patients had a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by molecular methods. During the study period 504/1697 patients died; thus, overall CFR was 29.7%. We looked for predictors of mortality in a subgroup of 486 patients (239 males, 59%; median age 71 years) for whom sufficient clinical data were available at data cut-off. Among the demographic and clinical variables considered, age, a diagnosis of cancer, obesity and current smoking independently predicted mortality. When laboratory data were added to the model in a further subgroup of patients, age, the diagnosis of cancer, and the baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio were identified as independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, the CFR of hospitalized patients in Northern Italy during the ascending phase of the COVID-19 pandemic approached 30%. The identification of mortality predictors might contribute to better stratification of individual patient risk.

Performance evaluation of hybrid crowdsensing systems with stateful CrowdSenSim 2.0 simulator.

Mobile crowdsensing (MCS) has become a popular paradigm for data collection in urban environments. In MCS systems, a crowd supplies sensing information for monitoring phenomena through mobile devices. Depending on the degree of involvement of users, MCS systems can be participatory, opportunistic or hybrid, which combines strengths of above approaches. Typically, a large number of participants is required to make a sensing campaign successful which makes impractical to build and deploy large testbeds to assess the performance of MCS phases like data collection, user recruitment, and evaluating the quality of information. Simulations offer a valid alternative. In this paper, we focus on hybrid MCS and extend CrowdSenSim 2.0 in order to support such systems. Specifically, we propose an algorithm for efficient re-route users that would offer opportunistic contribution towards the location of sensitive MCS tasks that require participatory-type of sensing contribution. We implement such design in CrowdSenSim 2.0, which by itself extends the original CrowdSenSim by featuring a stateful approach to support algorithms where the chronological order of events matters, extensions of the architectural modules, including an additional system to model urban environments, code refactoring, and parallel execution of algorithms.

The Impact of a New "Inverted Arch" Prosthetic Annuloplasty Ring on the Mitral Valve's 3-D Motion: An Experimental Ex-Vivo Study.

This experimental study aimed to evaluate the ex-vivo three-dimensional (3-D) motion of the Inverted Arch Ring (IAR), an innovative new design concept for a flexible incomplete annuloplasty prosthesis with an incorporated stabilizing rigid arch that can be used in correcting mitral valve regurgitation. Twenty explanted porcine hearts were placed in a circulation simulation system. Ultrasonometry transducers implanted in the mitral annulus were used to measure the 3-D valvular motion during a simulated cardiac cycle. Annular distance measurements were recorded and compared in each heart before and after the implantation of the IAR prosthesis at pressures corresponding to mid-systole and mid-diastole. Distances measured in mid-systole and mid-diastole demonstrated no significant differences in annular motion or in valve areas either prior to or after IAR implantation. Therefore, the results of this study confirm the minimal effects exerted by the IAR prosthesis on the mitral valve's 3-D motion during a simulated cardiac cycle.

Acute decompensated heart failure in the emergency department: Identification of early predictors of outcome.

Identification of clinical factors that can predict mortality and hospital early readmission in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients can help emergency department (ED) physician optimize the care-path and resource utilization.We conducted a retrospective observational study of 530 ADHF patients evaluated in the ED of an Italian academic hospital in 2013.Median age was 82 years, females were 55%; 31.1% of patients were discharged directly from the ED (12.5% after short staying in the observation unit), while 68.9% were admitted to a hospital ward (58.3% directly from the ED and 10.6% after a short observation). At 30 days, readmission rate was 17.7% while crude mortality rate was 9.4%; this latter was higher in patients admitted to a hospital ward in comparison to those who were discharged directly from the ED (12.6% vs. 2.4%, P < .001). Thirty-day mortality was significantly related to older age, higher triage priority, lower mean blood pressure (MBP), and lower pulse oxygen saturation (POS). At 180 days, crude mortality rate was 23.2%, higher in admitted patients compared with discharged ones (29.6% vs. 9.1%, P < .001) and was significantly related to older age, higher serum creatinine, and lower MBP and POS. At 12 and 22 months, crude mortality rates resulted 30.4% and 45.1%, respectively.Simple and objective parameters, such as age ≤82 years, MBP > 104 mm Hg, POS > 94%, may guide the ED physician to identify low-risk patients who can be safely discharged directly from the emergency room or after observation unit stay.