European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Dec 2020
Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the Italian congenital cardiac surgery system: a national survey.
Italy has been one of the countries most severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Italian government was forced to introduce quarantine measures quickly, and all elective health services were stopped or postponed. This emergency has dramatically changed the management of paediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease. We analysed data from 14 Italian congenital cardiac surgery centres during lockdown, focusing on the impact of the pandemic on surgical activity, patients and healthcare providers and resource allocation. ⋯ Our study shows that the pandemic had a different impact on the various Italian congenital cardiac surgery centres based on the different patterns of spread of the virus across the country. During the lockdown, the system was able to satisfy all emergency clinical needs with excellent results.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Nov 2020
Regional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retrieval service during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic: an interdisciplinary team approach to maintain service provision despite increased demand.
Coronavirus disease 2019 is a new contagious disease that has spread rapidly across the world. It is associated with high mortality in those who develop respiratory complications and require admission to intensive care. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a supportive therapy option for selected severely ill patients who deteriorate despite the best supportive care. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, extra demand led to staff reorganization; hence, cardiac surgery consultants joined the ECMO retrieval team. This article describes how we increased service provisions to adapt to the changes in activity and staffing. ⋯ Staff reorganization in a crisis is of paramount importance. For those with precise transferrable skills, experience can be gained quickly with appropriate supervision. Therefore, the team members were selected based on skill mix rather than on roles that are more traditional. We have demonstrated that an ECMO retrieval service can be reorganized swiftly and successfully to cope with the sudden increase in demand by spending cardiac surgeons services to supplement the anaesthetic-intensivist roles.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Nov 2020
Thoracic surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Madrid, Spain: single-centre report.
We reviewed the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 cases and the postoperative outcomes of patients who had thoracic surgery during the beginning and at the highest point of transmission in our community. ⋯ These results indicate that, in properly selected cases, with short preoperative in-hospital stays, strict isolation and infection control protocols, managed by a dedicated multidisciplinary team, a surgical procedure could be performed with a relatively low risk for the patient.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Nov 2020
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the heart transplant population: a single-centre experience.
Few anecdotal cases have been reported in the literature regarding heart transplant recipients and infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We report our experience with 6 patients hospitalized in Northern Italy during the outbreak. ⋯ In the absence of any strong evidence regarding the treatment of heart transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2, we faced a new challenge in managing viral infection in an immunosuppressed population. Because immunomodulation interaction with the infection seems to be crucial for developing severe forms of the disease, we managed to reduce immunosuppressive therapy by adding medium doses of corticosteroids. Despite the limited number of affected patients, this report suggests that special considerations should be given to treating coronavirus disease in the heart transplant recipient population.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Oct 2020
Perspectives in surgical and anaesthetic management of lung cancer in the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Early in 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly spread globally, giving rise to a pandemic. In this critical scenario, patients with lung cancer need to continue to receive optimal care and at the same be shielded from infection with the potentially severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Upgrades to the prevention and control of infection have become paramount in order to lower the risk of hospital contagion. ⋯ Therefore, in the current pandemic, providing a fast-track algorithm for scientifically standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment recommendations for patients with lung cancer is urgent. Suggestions for improving existing contagion control guidelines are needed, even in the case of non-symptomatic patients who possibly are responsible for virus spread. A COVID-19-specific intraoperative management strategy designed to reduce risk of infection in both health care workers and patients is also required.