Early echocardiographic findings in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia: a prospective, single center study.

Background: Cardiac dysfunction, mainly assessed by biomarker alterations, has been described in COVID-19 infection. However, there are still areas of uncertainty regarding its effective role in disease evolution. Aim of this study was to evaluate early echocardiographic parameters in COVID pneumonia and their association with severity disease and prognosis.

Lung ultrasonography: A prognostic tool in non-ICU hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: High diagnostic accuracy for pneumonia, absence of radiation exposure and repeatability are intrinsic features of lung ultrasonography making it an attractive tool in the assessment of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The aim of our prospective, observational study was to detect COVID-19-associated sonographic features and assess the potential value of LUS in predicting adverse events.

Methods: From March 12th to April 20th 2020 patients admitted to two medium-intensive wards with a discharge diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia were enrolled and underwent lung ultrasonography.

Severity of respiratory failure at admission and in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19: a prospective observational multicentre study.

Objectives: COVID-19 causes lung parenchymal and endothelial damage that lead to hypoxic acute respiratory failure (hARF). The influence of hARF severity on patients' outcomes is still poorly understood.

Design: Observational, prospective, multicentre study.

Pocket-size ultrasound device in cholelithiasis: diagnostic accuracy and efficacy of short-term training.

Pocket-size ultrasound devices (PSUD) are now widely available becoming a useful tool for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. We aim to investigate the accuracy of PSUD in diagnosing cholelithiasis as compared to traditional ultrasonography. Moreover, we tested the reliability of PSUD when performed by inexperienced internal medicine residents after a short-term training.

[Treatment of advanced heart failure in women: heart transplantation and ventricular assist devices].

Women candidates for heart transplantation are definitely less than men, just 20% of all patients transplanted; even in the INTERMACS registry they represent only 21% of all ventricular assist devices (VAD) implanted. The reasons for this big difference are discussed in this article. Why women are less frequently assessed for unconventional therapies? Are they sicker or just less regarded? Our experience and the literature show us clear epidemiological, clinical and treatment differences that could lead to a lower prevalence of end-stage disease in women of an age suitable for unconventional therapies.

Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile-associated disease in internal medicine wards in northern Italy.

Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is a growing health care problem. Elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and repeated hospitalization are at high risk for developing the disease. Few data are available on epidemiology of CDAD in Italy and no studies have focused on CDAD burden in internal medicine wards.

Eligibility criteria in heart failure randomized controlled trials: a gap between evidence and clinical practice.

The aim of the present study was to compare the characteristics of patients referred to our heart failure outpatient clinic with those of patients enrolled in clinical trials on heart failure pharmacological treatment. Thus, we estimated the proportion of patients admitted to our heart failure outpatient clinic who would have been included in randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of medical treatments on heart failure mortality, published over a 10 years period (1993-2003). Sixteen studies (n = 45276) and 299 consecutive outpatients, were included.