Open AccessA cross-sectional study evaluating hospitalization rates for chronic limb-threatening ischemia during the COVID-19 outbreak in Campania, Italy
Author(s) -
Eugenio Stabile,
Raffaele Piccolo,
Michele Franzese,
Giancarlo Accarino,
Umberto Marcello Bracale,
Enrico Cappello,
Giovanni Cioffi,
Angelo Cioppa,
Adolfo Crinisio,
Loris Flora,
P. Landino,
Eugenio Martelli,
Rosario Mancusi,
Raffaella Niola,
Fernando Petrosino,
Davide Razzano,
Carlo Ruotolo,
Luigi Salemme,
Paolo Sangiuolo,
Gianpaolo Santini,
Emilio Soreca,
Gennaro Vigliotti,
Bruno Villari,
Giampaolo Amabile,
Raffaele Pio Ammollo,
Danilo Barbarisi,
Alfonsina M Corbisiero,
Antonio D’Angelo,
Gianluca Cangiano,
Claudia De Gregorio,
Mario De Laurentis,
Eugenio Laurenzano,
Ilaria Ficarelli,
Alessandro Luongo,
Claudio Molino,
Giuseppe Sarti,
Daniela Viola,
Giovanni Esposito
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
vascular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.838
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1477-0377
pISSN - 1358-863X
DOI - 10.1177/1358863x20977678
Subject(s) - medicine , outbreak , covid-19 , cross sectional study , limb ischemia , emergency medicine , ischemia , intensive care medicine , virology , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The expansion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prompted measures of disease containment by the Italian government with a national lockdown on March 9, 2020. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of hospitalization and mode of in-hospital treatment of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) before and during lockdown in the Campania region of Italy. The study population includes all patients with CLTI hospitalized in Campania over a 10-week period: 5 weeks before and 5 weeks during lockdown ( n = 453). Patients were treated medically and/or underwent urgent revascularization and/or major amputation of the lower extremities. Mean age was 69.2 ± 10.6 years and 27.6% of the patients were women. During hospitalization, 21.9% of patients were treated medically, 78.1% underwent revascularization, and 17.4% required amputations. In the weeks during the lockdown, a reduced rate of hospitalization for CLTI was observed compared with the weeks before lockdown (25 vs 74/100,000 inhabitants/year; incidence rate ratio: 0.34, 95% CI 0.32-0.37). This effect persisted to the end of the study period. An increased amputation rate in the weeks during lockdown was observed (29.3% vs 13.4%; p < 0.001). This study reports a reduced rate of CLTI-related hospitalization and an increased in-hospital amputation rate during lockdown in Campania. Ensuring appropriate treatment for patients with CLTI should be prioritized, even during disease containment measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other similar conditions.