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To investigate the effects of the dramatic reduction in presentations to Italian Emergency Departments (EDs) on the main indicators of ED performance during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. From February to June 2020 we retrospectively measured the number of daily presentations normalized for the number of emergency physicians on duty (presentations/physician ratio), door-to-physician and door-to-final disposition (length-of-stay) times of seven EDs in the central area of Tuscany. Using the multivariate regression analysis we investigated the relationship between the aforesaid variables and patient-level (triage codes, age, admissions) or hospital-level factors (number of physician on duty, working surface area, academic vs. community hospital). We analyzed data from 105,271 patients. Over ten consecutive 14-day periods, the number of presentations dropped from 18,239 to 6132 (- 67%) and the proportion of patients visited in less than 60 min rose from 56 to 86%. The proportion of patients with a length-of-stay under 4 h decreased from 59 to 52%. The presentations/physician ratio was inversely related to the proportion of patients with a door-to-physician time under 60 min (slope - 2.91, 95% CI - 4.23 to - 1.59, R 2  = 0.39). The proportion of patients with high-priority codes but not the presentations/physician ratio, was inversely related to the proportion of patients with a length-of-stay under 4 h (slope - 0.40, 95% CI - 0.24 to - 0.27, R 2  = 0.36). The variability of door-to-physician time and global length-of-stay are predicted by different factors. For appropriate benchmarking among EDs, the use of performance indicators should consider specific, hospital-level and patient-level factors., (© 2021. Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI).)

Recent epidemiological reports on Chinese population affected by novel coronavirus showed a wide spread of clinical and biochemical alterations, suggesting a relationship between progression of lung damage to acute respiratory distress syndrome and the systemic inflammatory response, triggering an irreversible multiple organ damage and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Bedside ultrasound assessment provides integrated information, describing a multisystemic and dynamic clinical scenario for every patient. Furthermore, this approach allows to concentrate multiple information in the hands of a single operator, also limiting the risk of exposure to infection for healthcare professionals. As per our experience, herewith reported, we described the characteristics of 10 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Ultrasound findings were related to clinical information, blood test analysis, and results of instrumental tests, such as chest X-ray and chest computed tomography. According to our ultrasound data, COVID-19 appears to be a systemic pathology even in those cases of mild to moderate disease. By this multisystem ultrasound approach, we could immediately recognize patients with a diffuse organ involvement and a more severe clinical pattern; moreover, we can protect healthcare workers and limit infection within health facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]