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Published in: International Orthopaedics 8/2020

01-08-2020 | SARS-CoV-2 | Original Paper

The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy: perspectives from an orthopaedic hospital

Authors: Alberto Grassi, Nicola Pizza, Dario Tedesco, Stefano Zaffagnini

Published in: International Orthopaedics | Issue 8/2020

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Abstract

Purpose

Italy is one of the more severely affected countries in the world by the recent COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of this report is to describe how COVID-19 affected the life and organization of one of the main orthopaedic hospitals of the country, and which measures were implemented to face the outbreak.

Methods

A personal interview has been conducted with four doctors involved in the management of COVID-19 outbreak in one of the main orthopaedic hospitals of Italy.

Results

Hospital was re-organized, elective surgeries were cancelled, and only trauma surgeries were allowed, together with oncologic and urgent cases. Since the number of cases among patients and healthcare workers increased, the hospital management responded not only with a massive testing campaign aimed at detecting contact histories but also with an additional testing campaign for asymptomatic healthcare workers.

Conclusion

The main lection is that any actions should be quick and decisive, for 1 week during the COVID-19 epidemic could make the difference.
Literature
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Metadata
Title
The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy: perspectives from an orthopaedic hospital
Authors
Alberto Grassi
Nicola Pizza
Dario Tedesco
Stefano Zaffagnini
Publication date
01-08-2020
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
International Orthopaedics / Issue 8/2020
Print ISSN: 0341-2695
Electronic ISSN: 1432-5195
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-020-04617-7

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