Venous Thromboembolism after Hospital Discharge: Temporal Trends in Baseline Characteristics, Prevention, Treatment, and 90-day Outcomes.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) after hospital discharge poses a serious health risk. Assessments of patient characteristics, prophylaxis, treatment, outcomes, and over time changes lack consistency. Data on 16,901 hospitalized patients in the Registro Informatizado Enfermedad TromboEmbolica registry (2003-2022) were analyzed to evaluate trends in baseline characteristics, prophylaxis, treatments, and 90-day outcomes among medical (6,218) and surgical (10,683) patient cohorts.

Prognostic Impact of Active Cigarette Smoking on Mortality in Patients with Acute Venous Thromboembolic Events, Findings from Real World Data.

: The influence of smoking habits on mortality, VTE recurrence, and major bleeding in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been consistently evaluated. : We used data from the RIETE (Registro Enfermedad TromboEmbólica) registry to compare mortality, VTE recurrence, and major bleeding risk in smoking versus non-smoking patients with acute VTE. : 50,881 patients (43,426 non-smoking and 7455 smoking patients) were included.

COVID-19: high-resolution computed tomography findings in the first 64 patients admitted to the Hospital of Cremona, the epicentre of the pandemic in Europe.

Purpose: In December 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as being responsible for the pulmonary infection called COVID-19. On 21 February 2020, the first autochthonous case of COVID-19 was detected in Italy. Our goal is to report the most common chest computed tomography (CT) findings identified in 64 patients, in the initial phase of COVID-19.

Bedside Abdominal Ultrasound in Evaluating Nasogastric Tube Placement: A Multicenter, Prospective, Cohort Study.

Background: Chest radiography is universally accepted as the method of choice to confirm correct positioning of a nasogastric tube (NGT). Considering also that radiation exposure could increase with multiple insertions in a single patient, bedside abdominal ultrasound (BAU) may be a potentially useful alternative to chest radiography in the management of NGTs.

Research Question: What is the accuracy of BAU in confirming the correct positioning of an NGT?

Study Design And Methods: After a specific course consisting of 10 h of training, the authors studied, in a prospective multicenter cohort, the validity of BAU to confirm correct NGT placement.

Factors associated with survival in older patients affected by COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

Aim: Mortality is high in Coronavirus disease 2019 patients with pre-existing comorbidities and advanced age. Associated complications have added to the negative prognosis. Nevertheless, many have fully recovered, even among the most fragile.

Canakinumab as treatment for COVID-19-related pneumonia: A prospective case-control study.

Objectives: Canakinumab is an IL-1β antibody that neutralises the activity of IL-1β. This study examined the efficacy and safety of canakinumab in patients with moderate COVID-19-related pneumonia.

Design: This study aimed to evaluate the reduction in duration of hospitalisation with adequate oxygen status.

Prevalence of asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia: a cross-sectional study.

The association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and venous thrombotic disorders is still unclear. We assessed the association between COVID-19 infection-related pneumonia and proximal deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in a cohort of patients admitted to our hospital during the European outbreak in the front line of Cremona, Lombardy. In a single-center cross-sectional study, all patients hospitalized for more than 5 days in Internal Medicine Department with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia received 2-point compressive ultrasound assessment (CUS) of the leg vein system during a single day.

Prevalence and risk factors for pulmonary embolism in patients with suspected acute exacerbation of COPD: a multi-center study.

Introduction: Pulmonary embolism (PE) prevalence in acute exacerbations of COPD is highly variable.

Methods: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of PE in patients hospitalized in Departments of Internal Medicine because of AECOPD and suspected PE we conducted a retrospective multicenter study in patients with an AECOPD undergoing chest angio-computed tomography (angio-CT) because of clinical suspect of PE.

Results: 1043 patients (mean age 75.

Direct oral anticoagulant plasma levels' striking increase in severe COVID-19 respiratory syndrome patients treated with antiviral agents: The Cremona experience.

Background: Antiviral drugs are administered in patients with severe COVID-19 respiratory syndrome, including those treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Concomitant administration of antiviral agents has the potential to increase their plasma concentration. A series of patients managed in the Cremona Thrombosis Center were admitted at Cremona Hospital for SARS-CoV-2 and started antiviral drugs without stopping DOAC therapy.

Switch from oral anticoagulants to parenteral heparin in SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized patients.

The development of COVID-19 syndrome in anticoagulated patients, and especially their admission to intensive-care units with acute severe respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), expose them to specific problems related to their therapy, in addition to those associated with the acute viral infection. Patients on VKA hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 show high instability of PT INR due to the variability of vitamin K metabolism, diet, fasting, co-medications, liver impairment, and heart failure. Patients on DOAC are exposed to under/over treatment caused by significant pharmacological interferences.

Morbid Obesity and Mortality in Patients With VTE: Findings From Real-Life Clinical Practice.

Background: The influence of morbid obesity on mortality in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy for VTE has not been consistently evaluated.

Methods: Data from the RIETE (Registro Informatizado Enfermedad TromboEmbólica) registry were used to compare the mortality risk during anticoagulation in patients with VTE and morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m) vs those with normal weight (BMI, 18.5-24.

Clinical outcomes during anticoagulant therapy in fragile patients with venous thromboembolism.

Background: Subgroup analyses from randomized trials suggested favorable results for the direct oral anticoagulants in fragile patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The frequency and natural history of fragile patients with VTE have not been studied yet.

Objectives: To compare the clinical characteristics, treatment and outcomes during the first 3 months of anticoagulation in fragile vs non-fragile patients with VTE.

General Practitioner-Performed Compression Ultrasonography for Diagnosis of Deep Vein Thrombosis of the Leg: A Multicenter, Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower limb represent a diagnostic dilemma for general practitioners. Compression ultrasonography (US) is universally recognized as the best test of choice. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of compression US performed by general practitioners given short training in the management of symptomatic proximal DVT.

Dabigatran in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: from clinical trials to real-life experience.

: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in over-midlife patients. In addition to systolic heart failure, cerebral thromboembolism represents the most dramatic complication of this rhythm disorder, contributing to morbidity and mortality. Traditionally, anticoagulation has been considered the main strategy in preventing stroke and systemic embolism in atrial fibrillation patients and vitamin K-dependent antagonists have been widely used in clinical practice.

Prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism in patients with solid brain neoplasms: results of a survey among Italian physicians.

The decision concerning the introduction of primary and secondary prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with solid brain neoplasms and brain metastases is often challenging due to the concomitant increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage and to limited evidence from available literature. A standardized questionnaire composed of nine multiple-choice questions regarding primary VTE prevention in non-surgical patients during high-risk conditions and VTE secondary prevention in patients with a solid brain neoplasm or cerebral metastases was sent via electronic mail to all the members (n = 2420) of the Italian Federation of the Internal Medicine Hospital Executives' Associations (FADOI) in June 2015. Three hundred and fifty two physicians (14.

Accuracy of Nurse-Performed Lung Ultrasound in Patients With Acute Dyspnea: A Prospective Observational Study.

In clinical practice lung ultrasound (LUS) is becoming an easy and reliable noninvasive tool for the evaluation of dyspnea. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of nurse-performed LUS, in particular, in the diagnosis of acute cardiogenic pulmonary congestion. We prospectively evaluated all the consecutive patients admitted for dyspnea in our Medicine Department between April and July 2014.

Abdominal pain as pulmonary embolism presentation, usefulness of bedside ultrasound: a report of two cases.

It is well known that a number of patients affected by hemodynamic stable pulmonary embolism are admitted to the emergency department presenting chest pain without further symptoms of pulmonary embolism, such as dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, syncope, and tachycardia, but in a few cases, the presenting symptoms are even more unusual. The gold standard for pulmonary embolism diagnosis is computed tomography pulmonary angiogram resulting in significant exposure to ionizing radiation and contrast, but recently bedside ultrasound has shown to be useful in diagnosing pulmonary embolism in the emergency department. We describe two cases of pulmonary embolism in young men evaluated in the emergency department for acute pain of the upper abdomen, preliminarily diagnosed as abdominal colic, in which bedside ultrasound ruled out abdominal diseases and showed basal pulmonary abnormalities consistent with infarction, suggesting the need of diagnostic completion with computed tomography pulmonary angiogram.