Age is not the only risk factor in COVID-19: the role of comorbidities and of long staying in residential care homes

Background: The actual SARS-CoV-2 outbreak caused a highly transmissible disease with a tremendous impact on elderly people. So far, few studies focused on very elderly patients (over 80 years old). In this study we examined the clinical presentation and the outcome of the disease in this group of patients, admitted to our Hospital in Rome. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective study performed in the Sant’Andrea University Hospital of Rome. We included patients older than 65 years of age with a diagnosis of COVID-19, from March 2020 to May 2020, divided in two groups according to their age (Elderly: 65–80 years old; Very Elderly > 80 years old). Data extracted from the each patient record included age, sex, comorbidities, symptoms at onset, the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), the ratio of the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) to the inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) (P/F) on admission, laboratory tests, radiological findings on computer tomography (CT), length of hospital stay (LOS), mortality rate and the viral shedding. The differences between the two groups were analyzed by the Fisher’s exact test or the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables. To assess significance among multiple groups of factors, we used the Bonferroni correction. The survival time was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and Log Rank Test. Univariate and Multivariate logistic regression were performed to estimate associations between age, comorbidities, provenance from long-stay residential care homes (LSRCH) s and clinical outcomes. Results: We found that Very Elderly patients had an increased mortality rate, also due to the frequent occurrence of multiple comorbidities. Moreover, we found that patients coming from LSRCHs appeared to be highly susceptible and vulnerable to develop severe manifestations of the disease. Conclusion: We demonstrate that there were considerable differences between Elderly and Very Elderly patients in terms of inflammatory activity, severity of disease, adverse clinical outcomes. To establish a correct risk stratification, comorbidities and information about provenience from LSRCHs should be considered

Optimization of contrast medium volume for abdominal CT in oncologic patients: prospective comparison between fixed and lean body weight-adapted dosing protocols

Background: Patient body size represents the main determinant of parenchymal enhancement and by adjusting the contrast media (CM) dose to patient weight may be a more appropriate approach to avoid a patient over dosage of CM. To compare the performance of fixed-dose and lean body weight (LBW)-adapted contrast media dosing protocols, in terms of image quality and parenchymal enhancement. Results: One-hundred cancer patients undergoing multiphasic abdominal CT were prospectively enrolled in this multicentric study and randomly divided in two groups: patients in fixed-dose group (n = 50) received 120 mL of CM while in LBW group (n = 50) the amount of CM was computed according to the patient’s LBW. LBW protocol group received a significantly lower amount of CM (103.47 ± 17.65 mL vs. 120.00 ± 0.00 mL, p < 0.001). Arterial kidney signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and pancreatic CNR were significantly higher in LBW group (all p ≤ 0.004). LBW group provided significantly higher arterial liver, kidney, and pancreatic contrast enhancement index (CEI) and portal venous phase kidney CEI (all p ≤ 0.002). Significantly lower portal vein SNR and CNR were observed in LBW-Group (all p ≤ 0.020). Conclusions: LBW-adapted CM administration for abdominal CT reduces the volume of injected CM and improves both image quality and parenchymal enhancement

Gene signature and immune cell profiling by high-dimensional, single-cell analysis in COVID-19 patients, presenting Low T3 syndrome and coexistent hematological malignancies

BACKGROUND: Low T3 syndrome is frequent in patients admitted to intensive care units for critical illness and pneumonia. It has been reported also in patients with COVID-19, Hodgkin disease and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We analyzed the clinical relevance of Low T3 syndrome in COVID-19 patients and, in particular, in those with associated hematological malignancies.METHODS: Sixty-two consecutive patients, hospitalized during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Sant'Andrea University Hospital in Rome, were subdivided in 38 patients (Group A), showing low levels of FT3, and in 24 patients (Group B), with normal FT3 serum values. During the acute phase of the disease, we measured serum, radiologic and clinical disease severity markers and scores, in search of possible correlations with FT3 serum values. In addition, in 6 COVID-19 patients, 4 with Low T3 syndrome, including 2 with a hematological malignancy, and 2 with normal FT3 values, we performed, high-dimensional single-cell analysis by mass cytometry, multiplex cytokine assay and gene expression profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).RESULTS: Low FT3 serum values were correlated with increased Absolute Neutrophil Count, NLR and dNLR ratios and with reduced total count of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Low FT3 values correlated also with increased levels of inflammation, tissue damage and coagulation serum markers as well as with SOFA, LIPI and TSS scores. The CyTOF analysis demonstrated reduction of the effector memory and terminal effector subtypes of the CD4+ T lymphocytes. Multiplex cytokine assay indicates that mainly IL-6, IP-10 and MCAF changes are associated with FT3 serum levels, particularly in patients with coexistent hematological malignancies. Gene expression analysis using Nanostring identified four genes differently expressed involved in host immune response, namely CD38, CD79B, IFIT3 and NLRP3.CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that low FT3 serum levels are associated with severe COVID-19. Our multi-omics approach suggests that T3 is involved in the immune response in COVID-19 and coexistent hematological malignancy and new possible T3 target genes in these patients have been identified

Using sagittal otoliths for ecomorphological characterization of demersal fish from Adriatic Sea.

The morphology of the sagittal otolith were studied in six fish species associated with different feeding pattern and ecological niche. Three percentage indexes were calculated: A%, L% and EL% for each species. Statistical analysis showed inter-specific differences in the morphological features (PCA, PERMANOVA and post-hoc pair-wise analysis on species groups) differentiating benthic species from those bento-pelagic and necto-benthic. Our results suggested that otoliths could be used as fish ecomorphological marker

Prime indagini sulle abitudini alimentari di Trigloporus lastoviza (Scorpaeniformes: triglidae) in Adriatico.

Trigloporus lastoviza (Bonnaterre, 1788), volgarmente nota come \u201cgallinella o capone ubriaco\u201d, in Adriatico \ue8 distribuita principalmente a nord, nella zona centro-orientale e nell\u2019area compresa tra Spalato e Dubrovnik, fino a 100 m di profondit\ue0, in acque poco profonde, potendo quindi disporre di una maggiore diversit\ue0 di prede rispetto ad altri triglidi (per es. Aspitrigla cuculus) che vivono a profondit\ue0 maggiori. E\u2019 stato analizzato il contenuto stomacale di 138 esemplari adulti di T. lastoviza prelevati in Adriatico durante 4 campagne di pesca a strascico, 2 invernali e 2 estive condotte tra il 2007 e il 2012. Su tutti gli esemplari sono stati registrati i parametri biometrici (LT, mm), peso corporeo (P, g), sesso (valutato sulla base dell\u2019analisi macroscopica delle gonadi), sono state identificate le prede fino al livello tassonomico pi\uf9 basso possibile, successivamente pesate, contate, fotografate, mediante sistema computerizzato di immagini. I dati sono stati informatizzati con database relazionale \u201cMicrosoft Access\u201d e analizzati mediante pacchetto statistico \u201cR ver. 3.0.1\u201d. Sono stati calcolati i principali indici alimentari, al fine d\u2019individuare la tipologia qualiquantitativa del regime alimentare di T. lastoviza. I risultati ottenuti mostrano che la dieta verte essenzialmente su crostacei (IRI%=95,8%), per lo pi\uf9 decapodi. Galathea intermedia e Liocarcinus sp. rappresentano le specie prevalenti. Nonostante il fatto che la popolazione bentonica costiera del Mediterraneo nord-orientale sia caratterizzata da elevata diversit\ue0 specifica, questa non si riflette nel contenuto stomacale di T. lastoviza, indicando con queste indagini preliminari, che la specie tende a comportarsi da \u201cpredatore selettivo\u201d, nutrendosi preferibilmente di pochi organismi specifici, in accordo con la letteratura relativa ad altre aree geografiche. Concludendo, si conferma l\u2019importanza degli studi relativi alla biologia trofica ed ai rapporti preda-predatore, essenziali per quantificare i ruoli ecologici dei diversi componenti delle comunit\ue0 marine

Involvement of seminal leukocytes, reactive oxygen species, and sperm mitochondrial membrane potential in the DNA damage of the human spermatozoa

Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) producing leukocytes in semen has been a standard component of the semen analysis, but its true significance remains still unknown. In this study, we have correlated the number of seminal leukocytes to various semen parameters. We found a negative correlation between the leukocyte number and sperm concentration (rs = −0.22; p = 0.01) and motility (rs = −0.20; p = 0.02). In contrast, a positive correlation between the number of leukocytes and both seminal ROS (rs = 0.70, p < 0.001; n = 125) and the number of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation (rs = 0.43, p = 0.032; n = 25) was found. However, only a trend of positive correlation between ROS and the number of spermatozoa with TUNEL-detected DNA fragmentation was observed. Moreover, this latter was not correlated with loss of sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) (10% vs 35%, rs = 0.25, p = 0.08; n = 50). Overall these results indicate that the presence of high number of leukocytes in the ejaculate negatively affects key semen parameters, as sperm concentration and motility, associated with infertility conditions. Moreover, they suggest that leukocytes are the major source of the seminal ROS and cause of sperm DNA fragmentation. However, the absence of a clear correlation between ROS and sperm DNA fragmentation, and spermatozoa with damaged DNA and MMP loss, suggest that ROS produced by leukocytes might be not the only cause of DNA damage in spermatozoa and that intrinsic mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways might not have a major impact on sperm DNA fragmentation

Analysis of inadequacies in hospital care through medical liability litigation

Over the past two decades, health litigation has followed an exponentially incremental trend. As insurance companies tend to limit their interest because of the high risk of loss, health facilities increasingly need to internalize dispute management. This study was conducted through a retrospective analysis of existing files concerning the civil litigation of the Sant\u2019Andrea Hospital in Rome. All claims from 1 June 2010 to 30 June 2019 were included. Paid claims were further classified according to the areas of health care inappropriateness found. Authors indexed 567 different claims along the study period, with an average number of 59 per year (range 38\u201377). The total litigation involved 47 different units; more than 40% concerned 5 high-incidence wards or services. Concerning the course of disputes, 91 cases were liquidated before a judicial procedure was instituted, while 177 cases landed in a civil court. Globally, 131 different claims hesitated in compensation, for a total of 16 million 625 thousand euros, 41% of which was related to the internal medicine area. Dealing with the inappropriateness analysis, clinical performance alone involved 76 cases, for a total of 10 million 320 thousand euros, while organization defects involved 20 disputes equivalent to 1 million 788 thousand euros. The aim of this study was to enhance the clinical risk management at our facility through a litigation analysis

Management decisions of an Academic Radiology Department during COVID-19 pandemic: the important support of a business analytics software

Objectives: To analyze the response in the management of both radiological emergencies and continuity of care in oncologic/fragile patients of a radiology department of Sant’Andrea Academic Hospital in Rome supported by a dedicated business analytics software during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Imaging volumes and workflows for 2019 and 2020 were analyzed. Information was collected from the hospital data warehouse and evaluated using a business analytics software, aggregated both per week and per quarter, stratified by patient service location (emergency department, inpatients, outpatients) and imaging modality. For emergency radiology subunit, radiologist workload, machine workload, and turnaround times (TATs) were also analyzed. Results: Total imaging volume in 2020 decreased by 21.5% compared to that in 2019 (p &lt;.001); CT in outpatients increased by 11.7% (p &lt;.005). Median global TAT and median code-blue global TAT were not statistically significantly different between 2019 and 2020 and between the first and the second pandemic waves in 2020 (all p &gt;.09). Radiologist workload decreased by 24.7% (p &lt;.001) during the first pandemic wave in 2020 compared with the same weeks of 2019 and showed no statistically significant difference during the second pandemic wave, compared with the same weeks of 2019 (p = 0.19). Conclusions: Despite the reduction of total imaging volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to 2019, management decisions supported by a dedicated business analytics software allowed to increase the number of CT in fragile/oncologic outpatients without significantly affecting emergency radiology TATs, and emergency radiologist workload. Key Points: • During the COVID-19 pandemic, management decisions supported by business analytics software guaranteed efficiency of emergency and preservation of fragile/oncologic patient continuity of care. • Real-time data monitoring using business analytics software is essential for appropriate management decisions in a department of radiology. • Business analytics should be gradually introduced in all healthcare institutions to identify strong and weak points in workflow taking correct decisions

Phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolutionary relationships among gurnard species of the Adriatic sea.

A phylogenetic analysis of seven gurnard species inhabiting the Adriatic Sea was performed by using the mitochondrial 16S marker. Three different methods were employed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships: all supported the monophyly of the genus. Two clades were identified: one clade included Trigla and Lepidotrigla species, the other one included Eutrigla gurnardus, Aspitrigla cuculus and Chelidonichthys lucerna. The Bayesian analysis provided the best estimate of the phylogenetic relationships of the included taxa