Rovere Querini Patrizia, De Lorenzo Rebecca, Conte Caterina, Brioni Elena, Lanzani Chiara, Yacoub Mona Rita, Chionna Raffaella, Martinenghi Sabina, Vitali Giordano, Tresoldi Moreno, Ciceri Fabio
1School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milano, Italy; 2 IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milano, Italy.
San Raffaele University.
Acta Biomed. 2020 Jul 20;91(9-S):22-28. doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i9-S.10146.
The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outbreak is posing considerable challenges to healthcare systems and societies worldwide. While the knowledge on the acute phase of the disease has rapidly expanded, little is known on the consequences of COVID-19 following clinical remission. We set up a multidisciplinary COVID-19 follow-up outpatient clinic to identify and address the clinical needs of COVID-19 survivors. Here we describe the features of our follow-up programme.
The multidisciplinary assessment comprises a complete physical examination, respiratory evaluation (peripheral oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, dyspnoea assessment, lung ultrasound and pulmonary function), cardiovascular assessment (electrocardiography, echocardiography), nutritional assessment (anthropometrics, mini Nutritional Assessment screening tool), neurological examination including cognitive tests, and mental health assessment. All data are prospectively collected, and blood is sampled for biobanking.
Since 7 April to 5 June, 2020, 453 out of the 1388 COVID-19 survivors managed at our University Hospital have been evaluated at the Outpatient COVID-19 Follow-up Clinic. The characteristics of the follow-up cohort are similar to those of the whole cohort of COVID-19 in terms of demographics, comorbidities, and COVID-19 severity upon ED presentation, indicating that the follow-up cohort is representative of the whole cohort.
Continuous patient monitoring might give an answer to the numerous unsolved questions about what comes next in this pandemic and beyond. This will help physicians and researchers establish strategies to face future pandemics and develop preventative and therapeutic strategies for similar hyperinflammatory conditions.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情给全球医疗系统和社会带来了巨大挑战。尽管对该疾病急性期的认识迅速扩展，但对于COVID-19临床缓解后的后果却知之甚少。我们设立了一个多学科的COVID-19随访门诊，以识别并满足COVID-19康复者的临床需求。在此，我们描述我们随访项目的特点。
多学科评估包括全面的体格检查、呼吸评估（外周血氧饱和度、呼吸频率、呼吸困难评估、肺部超声和肺功能）、心血管评估（心电图、超声心动图）、营养评估（人体测量学、微型营养评定筛查工具）、包括认知测试在内的神经学检查以及心理健康评估。所有数据均前瞻性收集，并采集血液用于生物样本库保存。
自2020年4月7日至6月5日，在我们大学医院接受治疗的1388例COVID-19康复者中，有453例在COVID-19门诊随访诊所接受了评估。随访队列在人口统计学、合并症以及急诊科就诊时COVID-19严重程度方面的特征与整个COVID-19队列相似，这表明随访队列代表了整个队列。
持续的患者监测可能会解答关于这场大流行及后续诸多未解决的问题。这将有助于医生和研究人员制定应对未来大流行的策略，并为类似的过度炎症状态制定预防和治疗策略。
