The Canadian journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Observational Study
Decrease and Delay in Hospitalization for Acute Coronary Syndromes During the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.
The diffusion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) forced the Italian population to restrictive measures that modified patients' responses to non-SARS-CoV-2 medical conditions. We evaluated all patients with acute coronary syndromes admitted in 3 high-volume hospitals during the first month of SARS-CoV-2 Italian-outbreak and compared them with patients with ACS admitted during the same period 1 year before. ⋯ In 2020, both door-to-balloon and symptoms-to-percutaneous coronary intervention were longer, and admission levels of high-sensitive cardiac troponin I were higher. They had a lower discharged residual left-ventricular function and an increased predicted late cardiovascular mortality based on their Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) scores.
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Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a point-of-care ultrasound technique used for its portability, widespread availability, and ability to provide real-time diagnostic information and procedural guidance. LUS outperforms lung auscultation and chest X-ray, and it is an alternative to chest computed tomography in selected cases. Cardiologists may enhance their physical and echocardiographic examination with the addition of LUS. ⋯ We describe LUS findings and interpretation for common causes of respiratory failure. We provide guidance specific of COVID-19, which at the time of writing is a global pandemic. In this context, LUS emerges as a particularly useful tool for the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiopulmonary disease.
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Letter Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Late STEMI and NSTEMI Patients' Emergency Calling in COVID-19 Outbreak.
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Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy) there is an urgent need to manage cardiovascular emergencies, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS), with appropriate standards of care and dedicated preventive measures and pathways against the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. For this reason, the Government of Lombardy decided to centralize the treatment of ACS patients in a limited number of centers, including our university cardiology institute, which in the past 4 weeks became a cardiovascular emergency referral center in a regional hub-and-spoke system. ⋯ We present here the protocol dedicated to ACS patients adopted in our center since March 13, 2020, and our initial experience in the management of ACS patients during the first 4 weeks of its use. Certainly, the protocol has room for further improvement as everyone's experience grows, but we hope that it could be a starting point, adaptable to different realities and local resources.