Position paper of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology on the impact of COVID-19 on Italian oncology and the path forward: the 2021 Matera statement.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected cancer care and research by disrupting the prevention and treatment paths as well as the preclinical, clinical, and translational research ecosystem. In Italy, this has been particularly significant given the severity of the pandemic's impact and the intrinsic vulnerabilities of the national health system. However, whilst detrimental, disruption can also be constructive and may stimulate innovation and progress. The Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) has recognized the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care continuum and research and proposes the '2021 Matera statement' which aims at providing pragmatic guidance for policymakers and health care institutions to mitigate the impact of the global health crisis on Italian oncology and design the recovery plan for the post-pandemic scenario. The interventions are addressed both to the pillars (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, health care professionals) and foundations of cancer care (communication and care relationship, system organization, resources, research, networking). The priorities to be implemented can be summarized in the MATERA acronym: Multidisciplinarity; Access to cancer care; Telemedicine and Territoriality; Equity, ethics, education; Research and resources; Alliance between stakeholders and patients.

Quality of post-anesthetic care in a hospital without a Post-Anesthetic Care Unit. A clinical audit.

AIM: The majority of Italian hospitals are not equipped with a Post- Anesthetic Care Unit. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether it is possible to guarantee post-anesthetic care according to current international quality and safety standards in the absence of such a structure. METHODS: Our hospital is not equipped with a Post-Anesthetic Care Unit and post-anesthetic assistance is assured by the anesthetist and anesthetic nurse themselves. In order to evaluate the quality of the post-anesthetic care a Recovery Chart was devised and strict discharge criteria defined: Recovery Score (modified Aldrete's score) = or >7; systolic blood pressure within 20% of the preoperative values; nausea/vomiting and shivering absent; pain absent/mild. A retrospective audit was conducted in 2 orthopedic operating rooms from January 10, 2000 to January 31, 2001 in order to evaluate major complications, observance of discharge criteria, postanesthetic care time. RESULTS: Incidence of complications was 2.6%. Observance of discharge criteria was 74%. In 26% of cases (69/261 cases) discharge criteria were not completely respected: 14 cases with unstable vital parameters; 46 cases with pain not under control; 6 cases with nausea/vomiting; 3 cases with shivering. In these cases monitoring and treatment was continued on the ward according to the anesthetist's prescriptions. None of these patients died or suffered major complications because of a quick discharge to the ward. Mean post-anesthetic care time was 40+/-18 minutes (median 35 minutes). CONCLUSION: Where the Post- Anaesthetic Care Unit is not available it is virtually impossible to guarantee post-anesthetic care according to current international quality and safety standards, because production pressure can lead the anesthetist to discharge the patient to the ward before he/she is completely stabilized. In these cases the anesthetist must accurately prescribe the necessary postoperative monitoring and treatment (analgesics, antiemetics, fluids, etc.) that must be continued in the surgical ward to guarantee the patient's safety, but it must be underlined that the surgical ward is not the appropriate place to carry on immediate post-anesthetic care.