Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background: Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods: This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, r…

Covid-19 and Congenital Heart Disease: results from a nationwide survey

Background. The pandemic of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging, given the large number of hospitalized patients. Cardiovascular co-morbidities are linked to a higher mortality risk. Thus, patients with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) might represent a high-risk population. Nevertheless, no data about them are available, yet. Hence, we conducted a nationwide survey to assess clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with congenital heart disease affected by COVID-19. Methods and Results. This is a multi-centre, observational, nationwide survey, involving high-volume Italian CHD centres. COVID-19 diagnosis was defined as either &ldquo

SARS-CoV-2 infection and venous thromboembolism after surgery: an international prospective cohort study

SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism. We conducted a planned sub-study and analysis from an international, multicentre, prospective cohort study of elective and emergency patients undergoing surgery during October 2020. Patients from all surgical specialties were included. The primary outcome measure was venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis) within 30 da…

A Neural Solution for a Mobile Robot Navigation into Unknown Indoor Environments Using Visual Landmarks

In this paper we present a neural solution for a mobile robot navigation into unknown indoor environments by using landmarks. Robot navigation task is implemented by two groups of processes based on MLP neural networks classifiers: a Low Level Vision System performs obstacle avoidance and corridor following, while an High Level Vision System extracts landmarks contents and performs goal directed navigation. A path-planner manages the two navigation systems and interacts with the robot hardware. The proposed solution is very strong and flexible and can be used to drive a mobile robot in real indoor environments. In the paper experimental results are also reported.

324Prognostic role of late gadolinium enhancement in patients with low or intermediate HCM SCD risk score: a multicenter study

Prognostic Role of Late Gadolinium Enhancement in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Low-to-Intermediate Sudden Cardiac Death Risk Score

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most life-threating complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) suggest the implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in primary prevention according to a 5-year risk SCD score >= 6%. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prognostic role of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in patients with a 5-year risk SCD score <6%. In this multicenter study, we performed cardiac magnetic resonance in 354 consecutive hypertrophic cardiomy-opathy patients (257 males, range of age 54 +/- 17) with a risk SCD score <6% (302 with <4% and 52 with >= 4 and <6% risk). Hard cardiac events,…