A new standard scoring for interstitial pneumonia based on quantitative analysis of ultrasonographic data: A study on COVID-19 patients.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of 3 novel lung ultrasound (LUS)-based parameters: Pneumonia Score and Lung Staging for pneumonia staging and COVID Index, indicating the probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: Adult patients admitted to the emergency department with symptoms potentially related to pneumonia, healthy volunteers and clinical cases from online accessible databases were evaluated. The patients underwent a clinical-epidemiological questionnaire and a LUS acquisition, following a 14-zone protocol.

Assessment of antihypertensive drug use in primary care in Ravenna, Italy, based on data collected in the PANDORA project.

Background: In the clinical-practice setting, only a small percentage of patients treated with antihypertensive drugs become normotensive. Furthermore, the diversity of drug classes used makes comparison of treatments difficult.

Objective: The goal of this study was to characterize the types and efficacy of antihypertensive treatments used in primary care in the area of Ravenna, Italy.