Learning from the Italian experience during COVID-19 pandemic waves: be prepared and mind some crucial aspects.
Keywords:
COVID-19, hospital response, emergency planning, drug supply, lung ultrasound, telemedicine, drug shortage.Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread worldwide causing a serious challenge to the global medical community. Italy was struck hard during the first wave earlier this year and several weaknesses as well as general unpreparedness of the national healthcare system were acknowledged. Learning essential lessons from the past, we realized how implementing contingency response measures, human resources and social dynamics could have changed the outcome if promptly adopted.
This review translates the previous experience into strategic actions that has to be considered when developing appropriate national and regional operational plans to respond to a pandemic.
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2. Eastwood K, Durrheim D, Francis JL, d'Espaignet ET, Duncan S, Islam F, et al. Knowledge about pandemic influenza and compliance with containment measures among Australians. Bull World Health Organ. 2009 Aug;87(8):588-94. doi: 10.2471/blt.08.060772.
3. Siddiqi HK, Mehra MR. COVID-19 illness in native immunosuppressed states: a clinical-therapeutic staging proposal. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplanation. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.03.012
4. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control website. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea ( Last accessed date 11/29/2020)
5. McCombs A, Kadelka C. A model-based evaluation of the efficacy of COVID-19 social distancing, testing and hospital triage policies. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 Oct 15;16(10):e1008388. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008388.
6. Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y, et al. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(13):1199–1207. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001316.
7. Kwon S, Joshi AD, Lo CH, Drew DA, Nguyen LH, Guo CG, et al. Association of social distancing and masking with risk of COVID-19. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 Nov 13:2020.11.11.20229500. doi: 10.1101/2020.11.11.20229500. PMID: 33200150; PMCID: PMC7668763.
8. http://www.governo.it/it/articolo/coronavirus-conte-firma-il-dpcm-11-marzo-2020/14299
9. Protezione Civile Italiana data available at http://opendatadpc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/b0c68bce2cce478eaac82fe38d4138b1 (Last accessed 11/27/2020)
10. Li Y, Campbell H, Kulkarni D, Harpur A, Nundy M, Wang X, et al. for the Usher Network for COVID-19 Evidence Reviews (UNCOVER) group. The temporal association of introducing and lifting non-pharmaceutical interventions with the time-varying reproduction number (R) of SARS-CoV-2: a modelling study across 131 countries. Lancet Infect Dis 2020 PublishedOnline October 22, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S1473-3099(20)30785-4
11. Paterlini M. Covid:19: Italy has wasted the sacrifices of the first wave, say experts. BMJ. 2020 Nov 12;371:m4279. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m4279. PMID: 33184040.
12. Italian Law n° 421 of 23 October 1992. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1992-1031&atto.codiceRedazionale=092G0463&normativi=false&tipoVigenza=originario&tipoSerie=serie_generale¤tPage=1
13. Harvard Business Review website. https://hbr.org/2020/03/lessons-from-italys-response-to-coronavirus
14. Mantha S, Tripuraneni SL, Roizen MF, Fleisher LA. Proposed Modifications in the 6-Minute Walk Test for Potential Application in Patients With Mild COVID-19: A Step to Optimize Triage Guidelines. Anesth Analg. 2020 Aug;131(2):398-402. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000004986.
15. Boero E, Schreiber A, Rovida S, Vetrugno L, Blaivas M. The role of lung ultrasonography in COVID-19 disease management. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2020 Jul 21:10.1002/emp2.12194. doi: 10.1002/emp2.12194. Epub ahead of print.
16. Volpicelli G, Lamorte A, Villén T. What's new in lung ultrasound during the COVID-19 pandemic. Intensive Care Med. 2020 Jul;46(7):1445-1448. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-06048-9. Epub 2020 May 4.
17. Zieleskiewicz L, Markarian T, Lopez A, Taguet C, Mohammedi N, Boucekine M, et al.; AZUREA Network. Comparative study of lung ultrasound and chest computed tomography scan in the assessment of severity of confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia. Intensive Care Med. 2020 Sep;46(9):1707-1713. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-06186-0. Epub 2020 Jul 29.
18. Vetrugno L, Bove T, Orso D, Barbariol F, Bassi F, Boero E, et al. Our Italian experience using lung ultrasound for identification, grading and serial follow-up of severity of lung involvement for management of patients with COVID-19. Echocardiography. 2020 Apr;37(4):625-627. doi: 10.1111/echo.14664. Epub 2020 Apr 15.
19. Liang W, Liang H, Ou L, Chen B, Chen A, Li C, et al.; China Medical Treatment Expert Group for COVID-19. Development and Validation of a Clinical Risk Score to Predict the Occurrence of Critical Illness in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Aug 1;180(8):1081-1089. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2033.
20. Rovida S. The COVID-19 Worsening Score (COWS) – a predictive bedside tool for critical illness. Echocardiography. Accepted article. DOI: 10.1111/echo.14962
21. Jones BP, Tay ET, Elikashvili I, Sanders JE, Paul AZ, Nelson BP, et al. Feasibility and Safety of Substituting Lung Ultrasonography for Chest Radiography When Diagnosing Pneumonia in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Chest. 2016 Jul;150(1):131-8. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2016.02.643. Epub 2016 Feb 26.
22. Grasselli G, Pesenti A, Cecconi M. Critical care utilization for the COVID-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: early experience and forecast during an emergency response. JAMA 2020; 323(16):1545–1546. https ://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4031
23. Mariani NM, Pisani Ceretti A, Fedele V, Barabino M, Nicastro V, Giovenzana M, et al. Surgical Strategy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a University Metropolitan Hospital in Milan, Italy. World J Surg. 2020 Aug;44(8):2471-2476. doi: 10.1007/s00268-020-05595-y.
24. Piani T, Zanardo D, Deana C. Sliding doors during COVID-19: choose the right one! Journal of Emergency, Trauma & Acute Care 2020;8. Accepted article. http://dx.doi.org/10.5339/jemtac_2020_8
25. https://criticalcareblogspot.com/2020/11/15/high-flow-nasal-cannula-in-covid-19/
26. Carlin M, Ensign K, Person CJ, Kittle A, Meadows K. State of the Public Health Workforce: Trends and Challenges Leading Up to the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021 Jan/Feb;27(1):92-93. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001294.
27. Bauer J, Brüggmann D, Klingelhöfer D, Maier W, Schwettmann L, Weiss DJ, et al. Access to intensive care in 14 European countries: a spatial analysis of intensive care need and capacity in the light of COVID-19. Intensive Care Med. 2020 Nov;46(11):2026-2034. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-06229-6. Epub 2020 Sep 4.
28. Deana C, Verriello L, Pauletto G, Corradi F, Forfori F, Cammarota G, et al. Insights into neurological dysfunction of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Trends in Anaesthesia & Critical Care. 2020 Sep 15. doi: 10.1016/j.tacc.2020.09.005. Epub ahead of print.
29. D'Cruz RF, Perrin F, Birring SS, Patel AS, Patel I, Jolley CJ, et al. Provision of holistic care after severe COVID-19 pneumonia: anticipating clinical need and managing resources. Lancet Respir Med. 2020 Nov 13:S2213-2600(20)30529-4. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30529-4. Epub ahead of print.
30. Choo EK, Rajkumar SV. Medication Shortages During the COVID-19 Crisis: What We Must Do. Mayo Clin Proc. 2020 Jun;95(6):1112-1115. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 Apr 3.
31. Deana C, Vetrugno L, Tonizzo A, Orso D, Piani T, Bove T, et al. Drug Supply During COVID-19 Pandemic: Remember Not to Run With Your Tank Empty. Hospital Pharmacy. June 2020. doi:10.1177/0018578720931749
32. Bokolo, A. Exploring the adoption of telemedicine and virtual software for care of outpatients during and after COVID-19 pandemic. Ir J Med Sci (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-020-02299-z
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How to Cite
1.
Deana C, Rovida S, Orso D, et al. Learning from the Italian experience during COVID-19 pandemic waves: be prepared and mind some crucial aspects. Acta Biomed. 2021;92(2):e2021097. doi:10.23750/abm.v92i2.11159
