Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by behavioral and cognitive aspects that result in a significant impairment of an individual’s well-being. COVID-19 pandemic consequences negatively impacted healthcare services and people’s mental health. Particularly, in developmental ages, difficulties in coping with the situation could have had an impact on eating behaviors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess EDs’ hospitalization trend before, during and after the pandemic peak to evaluate whether it has been influenced. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on the hospital discharge forms of patients from 5 to 19 years old in Piedmont, which is a region in northern Italy. Overall, hospitalization, age, and gender-specific rates due to EDs that occurred in 2020 and 2021 were compared to those that occurred in 2018–2019. Since 2020, there has been a 55% reduction in overall hospitalizations, while the total proportion of EDs admissions has doubled from 2020 to 2021 (from 13.9‰ to 22.2‰). Significant hospitalization rate increases were observed both in 15–19 and in 10–14 females’ age groups in 2021. Non-significant increases were observed in all males’ age groups. The increase in hospitalizations for EDs should be further investigated, as it might be the tip of an iceberg not yet acknowledged.

Hand hygiene (HH) is one of the most important infection prevention and control strategies at the hospital level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential COVID-19 pandemic impact on HH practices and rate of healthcare-associated infections. Data on alcohol-based handrub consumption (AHC) and antimicrobial resistance across 27 Italian hospitals over the period 2017–2021 were considered. Data on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteria (CRE) were extracted from the antimicrobial resistance regional surveillance system. A significant increase was highlighted, with a peak in 2020 and a partial fall in 2021 for AHC (p < 0.001). The decrease in MRSA rates in 2021 compared to 2017–2019 was significant (p = 0.013). A significant Spearman’s correlation between AHC and CRE rates was found (Spearman’s ρ −0.646, p = 0.032). This study supports the importance of AHC monitoring and showed that improving AHC was an attainable goal in the COVID-19 era. However, other strategies are needed to maintain the high levels of AHC attained during the pandemic, in order to avoid a progressive drop that has already begun in 2021. Furthermore, our results support the inverse relationship between AHC and infection rates and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

Background: Surveillance programs have proven to be effective in reducing surgical site infection (SSI) rates. In 2008 Piedmont joined the Italian national surveillance system. The aim of this study was to evaluate mortality rates and trends associated with SSIs in Piedmont from 2009 to 2019 for the two most frequently performed surgical procedures, hip arthroplasty (HPRO) and colon surgery (COLO). Methods: Data were collected through the national surveillance system, which includes 42 hospitals in Piedmont who participated in the surveillance program from 2009 to 2019. Procedure-specific SSI rates, overall mortality rates and case fatality rates (CFR) associated with SSIs were calculated, overall and per year. Trends were evaluated using the chi-squared test for trends. Analyses were performed using Epi Info v. 7.2. Results: A total of 33438 surgical procedures (21645 HPRO, 11793 COLO) were monitored over the study period from the hospitals participating in the network. 1215 SSIs (293 HPRO, 922 COLO) were observed and 617 deaths were registered (222 HPRO, 395 COLO). For HPRO procedures, an overall SSI rate of 1.35% was found, with an overall mortality of 1.03% and a CFR of 3.75%. No significant trend was observed. Considering COLO interventions, an overall SSI rate of 7.82% was found, with an overall mortality of 3.35% and a CFR of 6.94%. There was a statistically significant downward trend in SSI and overall mortality rates (p = 0.046 and 0.005, respectively). Conclusions: Considering HPRO, it is possible that the lack of significant trends could be due to the already low SSI and overall mortality rates, with the protective effect of surveillance having reached a plateau. Regarding COLO procedures, a significant reduction in SSI and overall mortality rates was observed during the study period. The reduction in mortality could be due to the decrease in SSI rates, however other factors not analysed in our study could have contributed. Key messages: • This study brings further evidence to the protective effect of surveillance, attributable to an improvement in healthcare quality and patients’ safety. • A significant decrease in COLO mortality rates was observed, which could be due to the decreasing trend in SSI rates.

Abstract 1197 Over the past fifteen years FISH has considerably improved our ability to reveal consistent chromosomal changes in M-GUS, MM and plasma cell leukaemia (PCL), providing evidence of common genetic disease mechanisms and parameters to guide therapeutic decisions. In contrast, this information is still limited in AL due to the rarity of the disease, the low burden and the low proliferative index of clonal PCs. However, recent studies have suggested that in AL FISH, either combined with cytoplasmic staining of specific IgL (cIg-FISH) or performed on immuno-selected PCs, can reveal aneuploidies and translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IGH). Based on these data we applied FISH to study 41 consecutive AL patients in order to establish the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities and their possible correlation with clinical parameters and outcome. In addition, since in every patient FISH was carried out on immuno-selected and immuno-stained PCs a comparison between these two FISH methods ((iFISH and cIg-FISH respectively) was made. The diagnosis of primary AL was based on the demonstration of amyloid deposits in tissues and organs, the identification of a monoclonal protein in serum or urine, the predominance of a monoclonal k or λ plasma cell population in the bone marrow. iFISH and cIg-FISH were carried out with the FGFR3/IGH [t(4;14)] dual color dual fusion, the CCND1/IGH [t(11;14)] dual color dual fusion, the IgH/c-MAF [t(14;16)] dual color dual fusion, the CEP7, the CEP9, the LSI D13S319+LSI 13q34, the LSI ATM+CEP11, the LSI p53+CEP17 probes (Vysis, Downers Grove, IL, USA) and with the ON MM 1q21/8p21.1 and the 4q21 tricolor probes (Kreated, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Probes cut-off values were calculated by applying a one tail binomial distribution with a 95% confidence interval to the results obtained from the analysis of 1500 nuclei from five normal controls. For monosomies cut-off values were fixed at 8.3%, for trisomies at 3%, for translocations at 10%. The Mann Whitney U test and the Fisher exact test were used to make statistical comparisons. A 2-sided p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Karyotype defects had an incidence of 87.8% on iFISH and of 80.4% on cIg-FISH. An insufficient PCs number in cytospin preparation was the major drawback of cIg-FISH. However, the two FISH approaches revealed similar percentages of abnormal cells. IGH rearrangements were the most frequent karyotype alterations and their incidence was 51.2%. The CCND1 locus was the most common IGH partner being involved in 41.5% of patients and was followed by the c-MAF locus involved in two patients (4.8%). No patient with the t(11;14) translocation presented a FISH pattern suggestive of a 11q13 (CCND1 locus) gain which, instead, was observed in ten t(11;14) negative patients. Monosomy 13/13q deletion and 1q21 amplification were revealed in 34.1% and 31.7% of patients respectively. Hyperdiploidy had a frequency of 24.4%. The t(11;14) was rare in patients with major peripheral nervous system involvement (p=0.027) and was not correlated with cardiac involvement (p=0.5). Moreover, t(11;14) positive patients presented a median bone marrow PCs percentage similar to that of patients with amp1q21 and higher than that of 13q-/-13 patients. No defect correlated with an increased bone marrow PCs infiltration. In conclusion: i) iFISH and cIg-FISH provided very similar results; ii) chromosomal defects had an incidence of 80–88%; iii) the t(11;14) was significantly correlated with absence of peripheral nervous system involvement; iv) no chromosomal defect was associated with a significant increase of median BM PCs infiltration. Our data confirm the relevant role of CCDN1 in AL pathogenesis.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to major disruptions in surgical activity, particularly in the first year (2020). The objective of this study was to assess the impact of surgical reorganization on surgical outcomes in Northern Italy in 2020 and 2021. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 30 hospitals participating in the surveillance system for surgical site infections (SSIs). Abdominal surgery procedures performed between 2018 and 2021 were considered. Predicted SSI rates for 2020 and 2021 were estimated based on 2018-2019 data and compared with observed rates. Independent predictors for SSI were investigated using logistic regression, including procedure year. Results: 7605 procedures were included. Significant differences in case -mix were found comparing the three time periods. Observed SSI rates among all patients in 2020 were significantly lower than expected based on 2018-2019 SSI rates (p 0.0465). Patients undergoing procedures other than cancer surgery in 2020 had significantly lower odds for SSI (odds ratio, OR 0.52, 95 % confidence interval, CI 0.3-0.89, p 0.018) and patients undergoing surgery in 2021 had significantly higher odds for SSI (OR 1.49, 95 % CI 1.07-2.09, p 0.019) compared to 2018-2019. Conclusions: Enhanced infection prevention and control (IPC) measures could explain the reduced SSI risk during the first pandemic year. IPC practices should continue to be reinforced beyond the pandemic context.

Background and Objective: Hand hygiene (HH) is one of the most important measures to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased attention to infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, particularly regarding hand hygiene. The...