Search results for "pandemic"

Telemedicine Online Visits in Urology During the COVID-19 Pandemic-Potential, Risk Factors, and Patients' Perspective.

2020

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed considerable strain on hospital resources. We explored whether telemedicine (defined as a videoconference) might help. We undertook prospective structured phone interviews of urological patients (n = 399). We evaluated their suitability for telemedicine (judged by a panel of four physicians) and their risks from COVID-19 (10 factors for a poor outcome), and collected willingness for telemedicine and demographic data. Risk factors for an adverse outcome from COVID-19 infection were common (94.5% had one or more) and most patients (63.2%) were judged suitable for telemedicine. When asked, 84.7% of patients wished for a teleme…

Digital health interventions in children with asthma

2020

Abstract Although healthcare providers are actively involved in offering education, information and interventions for asthmatic patients, medication and therapeutic adherence remain low in the paediatric population, with estimates suggesting that adherence rates hover below 50%. A range of available digital health interventions has been explored in paediatric asthma with promising but variable results, limiting their widespread adoption in clinical practice. They include emerging technologies that yield the advantage of tracking asthma symptoms and medications, setting drug reminders, improving inhaler technique and delivering asthma education, such as serious games (video games designed fo…

Management of biological therapies for chronic plaque psoriasis during COVID-19 emergency in Italy

2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is creating an unprecedented global public health emergency with the continuous growth of infected individuals worldwide. Italy was one of the first European country to face the first wave of infection outside mainland China. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Lombardy on February 20th , 2020, and subsequently, a rapid increase in the number of detected cases was observed, spreading through Italy and the rest of Europe.3 As of April 22nd , confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy were 183,957.

Decline in the number of coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention procedures in patients with acute myocardial infarction in Polan…

2020

Place affect interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

2021

The COVID-19 health and economic crisis has also brought a rise in people being unable to cope with their existing medical conditions and other issues such as domestic violence, drugs, and alcohol among others. Suicidal tendencies have been on the rise. Feelings of isolation causing emotional distress in place-confined settings have put additional pressure on the healthcare systems demanding that we find additional and complementary means of support for those in need. This is important not only in the current pandemic but also in the post-pandemic world. The goal is to collectively contribute and address the recurring calls for actions to maintain global well-being and public health. An imp…

Emotional status and fear in patients scheduled for elective surgery during COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide cross-sectional survey (COVID-SURGERY)

2021

Abstract Background Fragmented data exist on the emotional and psychological distress generated by hospital admission during the pandemic in specific populations of patients, and no data exists on patients scheduled for surgery. The aim of this multicentre nationwide prospective cross-sectional survey was to evaluate the impact of pandemic on emotional status and fear of SARS-CoV-2 contagion in a cohort of elective surgical patients in Italy, scheduled for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Twenty-nine Italian centres were involved in the study, for a total of 2376 patients surveyed (mean age of 58 years ± 16.61; 49.6% males). The survey consisted of 28 total closed questions, in…

Longitudinal investigation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in older patients in the province of Palermo (So…

2020

IntroductionClinical presentation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in old adults from Southern Italy is little known. This study aims to investigate the mortality risk related to risk factors, therapy and clinical course and to suggest prognostic indicators based on day-to-day follow-up of clinical and laboratory findings.Material and methodsIt was designed as a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of adult SARS-CoV-2 patients admitted at Partinico COVID Hospital in Palermo, Southern Italy. Patients were recruited between 4 March and 25 April and followed up until 31 May 2020, day-to-day until death or hospital discharge. Clinical data, laboratory…

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): the portrait of a perfect storm

2020

The “novel” coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated “COVID-19”) is the third coronavirus outbreak emerging during the past two decades. This infectious disease, sustained by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been recently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Despite the concerning epidemiological burden, many people, including some policymakers, are underestimating this pandemic and are remaining enigmatically inactive against a human pathology which, for a combination of reasons, can be reasonably defined as a perfect storm (i.e., the “wrong virus” at the “wrong time”). These many paradigmatic aspects include SARS-CoV-2 structure and pe…

The Role of Asymptomatic Individuals in the COVID-19 Pandemic <i>via</i> Complex Networks

2020

Background: Recent seroprevalence studies have tried to estimate the real number of asymptomatic cases affected by COVID-19. It is of paramount importance to understand the impact of these infections in order to prevent a second wave. This study aims to model the interactions in the population by means of a complex network and to shed some light on the effectiveness of localised control measures in Italy in relation to the school opening in mid-September.}  Methods: The formulation of an epidemiological predictive model is given: the advantage of using this model lies in that it discriminates between asymptomatic and symptomatic cases of COVID-19 as the interactions with these two categorie…

Characteristics and patterns of care of endometrial cancer before and during COVID-19 pandemic

2021

Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has correlated with the disruption of screening activities and diagnostic assessments. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is often detected at an early stage, because it frequently produces symptoms. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients. Methods This is a retrospective study involving 54 centers in Italy. We evaluated patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients before (period 1: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and during (period 2: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak. Results M…