Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The knowledge of COVID-19 pathophysiology soon provided a strong rationale for the early use of both anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic drugs; however, its evidence was slowly and partially incorporated into institutional guidelines. The unmet needs...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/20/6138 |
| _version_ | 1797431486256775168 |
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| author | Marco Cosentino Veronica Vernocchi Stefano Martini Franca Marino Barbara Allasino Maria Antonietta Bàlzola Fabio Burigana Alberto Dallari Carlo Servo Florio Pagano Antonio Palma Mauro Rango on behalf of IppocrateOrg Association Working Group for the Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19 |
| author_facet | Marco Cosentino Veronica Vernocchi Stefano Martini Franca Marino Barbara Allasino Maria Antonietta Bàlzola Fabio Burigana Alberto Dallari Carlo Servo Florio Pagano Antonio Palma Mauro Rango on behalf of IppocrateOrg Association Working Group for the Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19 |
| author_sort | Marco Cosentino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The knowledge of COVID-19 pathophysiology soon provided a strong rationale for the early use of both anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic drugs; however, its evidence was slowly and partially incorporated into institutional guidelines. The unmet needs of COVID-19 outpatients were taken care of by networks of physicians and researchers. We analyse the characteristics, management and outcomes in COVID-19 outpatients who were taken care of by physicians within the IppocrateOrg Association. In this observational retrospective study, volunteering doctors provided data on 392 COVID-19 patients. The mean age of patients was 48.5 years (range: 0.5–97), and patients were taken care of in COVID-19 stage 0 (15.6%), stage 1 (50.0%), stage 2a (28.8%) and stage 2b (5.6%). Many patients were overweight (26%) or obese (11.5%), with chronic comorbidities (34.9%), mainly cardiovascular (23%) and metabolic (13.3%). The most frequently prescribed drugs included: vitamins and supplements (98.7%), aspirin (66.1%), antibiotics (62%), glucocorticoids (41.8%), hydroxychloroquine (29.6%), enoxaparin (28.6%), colchicine (8.9%), oxygen therapy (6.9%), and ivermectin (2.8%). Hospitalization occurred in 5.8% of cases, mainly in stage 2b (27.3%). A total of 390 patients (99.6%) recovered; one patient was lost at follow up, and one patient died after hospitalization. This is the first real-world study describing the behaviours of physicians caring for COVID-19 outpatients, and the outcomes of COVID-19 early treatment. The lethality in this cohort was 0.2%, while overall, and over the same period, the COVID-19 lethality in Italy was over 3%. The drug use described in this study appears effective and safe. The present evidence should be carefully considered by physicians and political decision makers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:45:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-69c040cfb0474225a5822165eff27aa7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:45:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-69c040cfb0474225a5822165eff27aa72023-12-02T00:33:49ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832022-10-011120613810.3390/jcm11206138Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in ItalyMarco Cosentino0Veronica Vernocchi1Stefano Martini2Franca Marino3Barbara Allasino4Maria Antonietta Bàlzola5Fabio Burigana6Alberto Dallari7Carlo Servo Florio Pagano8Antonio Palma9Mauro Rango10on behalf of IppocrateOrg Association Working Group for the Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19Center for Research in Medical Pharmacology, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, ItalyIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandCenter for Research in Medical Pharmacology, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, ItalyCenter for Research in Medical Pharmacology, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, ItalyIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandIppocrateOrg Association, Via Canova 15, 6900 Lugano, SwitzerlandCOVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. The knowledge of COVID-19 pathophysiology soon provided a strong rationale for the early use of both anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic drugs; however, its evidence was slowly and partially incorporated into institutional guidelines. The unmet needs of COVID-19 outpatients were taken care of by networks of physicians and researchers. We analyse the characteristics, management and outcomes in COVID-19 outpatients who were taken care of by physicians within the IppocrateOrg Association. In this observational retrospective study, volunteering doctors provided data on 392 COVID-19 patients. The mean age of patients was 48.5 years (range: 0.5–97), and patients were taken care of in COVID-19 stage 0 (15.6%), stage 1 (50.0%), stage 2a (28.8%) and stage 2b (5.6%). Many patients were overweight (26%) or obese (11.5%), with chronic comorbidities (34.9%), mainly cardiovascular (23%) and metabolic (13.3%). The most frequently prescribed drugs included: vitamins and supplements (98.7%), aspirin (66.1%), antibiotics (62%), glucocorticoids (41.8%), hydroxychloroquine (29.6%), enoxaparin (28.6%), colchicine (8.9%), oxygen therapy (6.9%), and ivermectin (2.8%). Hospitalization occurred in 5.8% of cases, mainly in stage 2b (27.3%). A total of 390 patients (99.6%) recovered; one patient was lost at follow up, and one patient died after hospitalization. This is the first real-world study describing the behaviours of physicians caring for COVID-19 outpatients, and the outcomes of COVID-19 early treatment. The lethality in this cohort was 0.2%, while overall, and over the same period, the COVID-19 lethality in Italy was over 3%. The drug use described in this study appears effective and safe. The present evidence should be carefully considered by physicians and political decision makers.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/20/6138SARS-CoV-2COVID-19primary carefamily medicineearly outpatient treatment |
| spellingShingle | Marco Cosentino Veronica Vernocchi Stefano Martini Franca Marino Barbara Allasino Maria Antonietta Bàlzola Fabio Burigana Alberto Dallari Carlo Servo Florio Pagano Antonio Palma Mauro Rango on behalf of IppocrateOrg Association Working Group for the Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19 Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy Journal of Clinical Medicine SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 primary care family medicine early outpatient treatment |
| title | Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy |
| title_full | Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy |
| title_fullStr | Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy |
| title_short | Early Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis of 392 Cases in Italy |
| title_sort | early outpatient treatment of covid 19 a retrospective analysis of 392 cases in italy |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 primary care family medicine early outpatient treatment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/20/6138 |
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