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Background: COVID-19 long-term sequelae are ill-defined since only a few studies have explored the long-term consequences of this disease so far. Aims: To evaluate the 6-month respiratory outcome and exercise capacity of COVID-19 acute respiratory failure (ARF) patients treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during the first wave of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective observational study included COVID-19 patients with ARF. Interventions included CPAP during hospitalisation and 6-month follow up. Frailty assessment was carried out through frailty index (FI), pO2/FiO2 during hospitalisation and at follow up, respiratory parameters, 6-min walking test (6MWT) and the modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) and Borg scale at follow up. Results: More than half of the patients had no dyspnoea according to the mMRC scale. Lower in-hospital pO2/FiO2 correlated with higher Borg scale levels after 6MWT (- 0.27; P 0.04) at the follow-up visit. FI was positively correlated with length of hospitalisation (- 0.3; P 0.03) and negatively with the 6MWT distance walked (- 0.36; P 0.004). Conclusions: Robust and frail patients with COVID-19 ARF treated with CPAP outside the intensive care unit setting had good respiratory parameters and exercise capacity at 6-month follow up, although more severe patients had slightly poorer respiratory performance compared with patients with higher PaO2/FiO2 and lower FI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related containment measures—mainly physical distancing and isolation—are having detrimental consequences on the mental health of the general population worldwide. In particular, frustration, loneliness, and worries about the future are common reactions and represent well-known risk factors for several mental disorders, including anxiety, affective, and post-traumatic stress disorders. The vast majority of available studies have been conducted in China, where the pandemic started. Italy has been severely hit by the pandemic, and the socio-cultural context is completely different from Eastern countries. Therefore, there is the need for methodologically rigorous studies aiming to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 and quarantine measures on the mental health of the Italian population. In fact, our results will help us to develop appropriate interventions for managing the psychosocial consequences of pandemic. The "COVID-IT-mental health trial" is a no-profit, not-funded, national, multicentric, cross-sectional population-based trial which has the following aims: a) to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures on mental health of the Italian population; b) to identify the main areas to be targeted by supportive long-term interventions for the different categories of people exposed to the pandemic. Data will be collected through a web-platform using validated assessment tools. Participants will be subdivided into four groups: a) Group 1—COVID-19 quarantine group. This group includes the general population which are quarantined but not isolated, i.e., those not directly exposed to contagion nor in contact with COVID-19+ individuals; b) Group 2—COVID-19+ group, which includes isolated people directly/indirectly exposed to the virus; c) Group 3—COVID-19 healthcare staff group, which includes first- and second-line healthcare professionals; d) Group 4—COVID-19 mental health, which includes users of mental health services and all those who had already been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Mental health services worldwide are not prepared yet to manage the short- and long-term consequences of the pandemic. It is necessary to have a clear picture of the impact that this new stressor will have on mental health and well-being in order to develop and disseminate appropriate interventions for the general population and for the other at-risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy is the major concern of Public Health in 2020: measures of containment were progressively expanded, limiting Outpatients' visit., Objective: We have developed and applied an emergency plan, tailored for Outpatients with endocrine diseases., Design: Cross-sectional study from March to May 2020., Setting: Referral University-Hospital center., Patients: 1262 patients in 8 weeks., Interventions: The emergency plan is based upon the endocrine triage, the stay-safe procedures and the tele-Endo. During endocrine triage every patient was contacted by phone to assess health status and define if the visit will be performed face-to-face (F2F) or by tele-Medicine (tele-Endo). In case of F2F, targeted stay-safe procedures have been adopted. Tele-Endo, performed by phone and email, is dedicated to COVID-19-infected patients, to elderly or frail people, or to those with a stable disease., Main Outcome Measure: To assess efficacy of the emergency plan to continue the follow-up of Outpatients., Results: The number of visits cancelled after endocrine triage (9%) is lower than that cancelled independently by the patients (37%, p < 0.001); the latter reduced from 47 to 19% during the weeks of lockdown (p = 0.032). 86% of patients contacted by endocrine-triage received a clinical response (F2F and tele-Endo visits). F2F visit was offered especially to young patients; tele-Endo was applied to 63% of geriatric patients (p < 0.001), visits' outcome was similar between young and aged patients., Conclusions: The emergency plan respects the WHO recommendations to limit viral spread and is useful to continue follow-up for outpatients with endocrine diseases., (© 2020. The Author(s).)