Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis
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The COVID-19 outbreak heavily attacked Italy, putting a strain for an extended time on the National healthcare system. Hospitals fastly rearranged the activity to cope with the crisis. This retrospective comparative study intended to investigate the impact of the lockdown imposed in Italy, in two different periods, during the COVID-19 outbreak on acute orthopedic trauma, in order to identify significant issues for improvement and future preparation. ⋯ Despite the decrease of overall acute trauma referral rates during the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, the incidence of fractures in elderly people remained constant, indicating that not all trauma presentations would inevitably decrease during such circumstances.
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The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2 has stressed health care systems worldwide. The high volume of patients, combined with an increased need for intensive care and potential transmission, has forced reorganization of hospitals and care delivery models. In this article, are presented approaches to minimize risk to Otolaryngologists during their patients infected with COVID-19 care. ⋯ Personal protective equipment (PPEs) availability and adequate healthcare providers training on their use should be ensured. Preventive measures are especially important in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, as the exposure to saliva suspensions, droplets and aerosols are increased in the upper aero-digestive tract routine examination. Morever, the frequent invasive procedures, such as laryngoscopy, intubation or tracheotomy placement and care, represent a high risk of contracting COVID-19.
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Conical coupling represents an alternative to screw coupling on angular stable plate fixation. Aims of the present study was to evaluate clinical effectiveness and ease of plate removal of conical coupling locking plates into different scenario regarding quality of bone, type of fracture and operative technique. ⋯ Ten complications related to plate fixation were observed (5,1%). Two case of intra-articular positioning of screws of wrist plate. One case of loss of reduction and breakage of wrist plate due to an inappropriate proximal fracture fixation. Five cases of complications involved clavicle fixation: three cases of non-union, one case of peri-implant fracture, one screw loosening. One non-union of distal tibial fracture, one non-union in olecranon fracture were finally observed. Thirty-four patients that have symptoms that could be traceable to the implants in-situ underwent plate removal. No complications were observed during surgical plates removal. Conical coupling angular stability plate represents an actractive alternative to threaded angular stability plate. Bush titanium insert, eliminating the problems of cold welding and cross-threading, simplifies surgical screws and plate removal.
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Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) is a popular biological therapy especially used to regenerate different musculoskeletal tissues by releasing growth-factors and cytokines promoting cell proliferation, chemotaxis, differentiation, and angiogenesis. The aim was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of PRP for Lateral-Epicondylitis (LE) of the elbow and Plantar-Fasciitis (PF). ⋯ As in other studies, our results do not allow to draw sufficiently valid conclusions regarding the effectiveness and safety of PRP in the treatment of LE and PF: in particular the statistical significance is limited by the small sample size. PRP can be chosen as a non-first-line treatment for LE and PF.
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Observational Study
Healthcare personnel exposure to COVID - 19: an observational study on quarantined positive workers.
COVID-19 is characterized by super spread events occurring in communities, e.g., hospitals. To limit virus diffusion among healthcare workers the use of personal protective equipment and screening tests are highly advised; also, isolation of virus positive professionals while monitoring their health condition is recommended. This study aims to assess, in a cohort of COVID-19 positive quarantined healthcare workers, the perceived source of infection and exposure risk as well as the clinical evolution of the disease through a surveillance interview. ⋯ The diffusion rate of COVID-19 among healthcare workers is relatively low, probably due to the use of personal protective equipment. The distancing, also among colleagues, is a fundamental measure to reduce the possibility of infection. Symptoms are mild and can be controlled by surveillance measures. Constant contact with the organization is an essential strategy for promoting recovering of workers and reducing the spread of the virus within the healthcare organization.