Arterial hypertension is a common condition worldwide and an important risk factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular events, renal diseases, as well as microvascular eye diseases. Established hypertension leads to the chronic vasoconstriction of small arteries as well as to a decreased lumen diameter and the thickening of the arterial media or wall with a consequent increased media-to-lumen ratio (MLR) or wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR). This process, defined as vascular remodeling, was firstly demonstrated in small resistance arteries isolated from subcutaneous biopsies and measured by micromyography, and this is still considered the gold-standard method for the assessment of structural alterations in small resistance arteries; however, microvascular remodeling seems to represent a generalized phenomenon. An increased MLR may impair the organ flow reserve, playing a crucial role in the maintenance and, probably, also in the progressive worsening of hypertensive disease, as well as in the development of hypertension-mediated organ damage and related cardiovascular events, thus possessing a relevant prognostic relevance. New non-invasive techniques, such as scanning laser Doppler flowmetry or adaptive optics, are presently under development, focusing mainly on the evaluation of WLR in retinal arterioles; recently, also retinal microvascular WLR was demonstrated to have a prognostic impact in terms of cardio- and cerebrovascular events. A rarefaction of the capillary network has also been reported in hypertension, which may contribute to flow reduction in and impairment of oxygen delivery to different tissues. These microvascular alterations seem to represent an early step in hypertension-mediated organ damage since they might contribute to microvascular angina, stroke, and renal dysfunction. In addition, they can be markers useful in monitoring the beneficial effects of antihypertensive treatment. Additionally, conductance arteries may be affected by a remodeling process in hypertension, and an interrelationship is present in the structural changes in small and large conductance arteries. The review addresses the possible relations between structural microvascular alterations and hypertension-mediated organ damage, and their potential improvement with antihypertensive treatment.

Introduction and Aim: Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is mainly based on gene detection through polymerase chain reaction analysis on nasopharyngeal swab. The Allplex TM 2019-nCoV assay targets 3 different viral genes: RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, envelope, and nucleocapside. A coding system was developed based on different number of genes expressed: a nasopharyngeal swab was considered “positive” if all 3 genes tested underwent amplification, “mildly positive” if only 2 out of 3 genes were detected, “uncertain” if only 1 gene and “negative” if none resulted amplified from the test. Our aim was to assess whether this classification correlates with clinical outcome in a cohort of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study including patients admitted with diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection to a medical ward at the Montichiari Hospital, Brescia, Italy, from February 28 to April 30, 2020. All patients underwent the nasopharyngeal swab upon admission. Results: A total of 204 patients were included in this study. Patients with full positive nasopharyngeal swab showed higher values of C-reactive protein and neutrophiles/lymphocytes ratio compared with patients with mildly positive or uncertain nasopharyngeal swab. Mortality did not differ between the 2 groups. A Cox multivariate analysis showed that age, male sex, and CRP values are independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that patients with a complete SARS-CoV-2 gene detection nasopharyngeal swab show a higher inflammatory profile, and this can be an indirect measurement of viral load in COVID-19 patients.

Background: Identifying and addressing long-term health and societal challenges after COVID-19 is a research priority. Objectives: To create an international, multidisciplinary COVID-19 database, and synthesise long-term outcomes, predictors and costs. Design: Systematic identification of COVID-19 data sets and meta-analysis of individual participant data on long-term outcomes after COVID-19. Setting: Contributed data were collected in clinical, community and research settings. Interventions: Interventions from original studies were included as covariates in models. Data sources: MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycInfo ^® (American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, USA), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, World Health Organization Global Index Medicus, Epistemonikos, LitCOVID; World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform; ClinicalTrials.gov and supplementary searches for studies (November 2019–November 2021) were searched for studies on > 10 people from cohort, case-control, survey or randomised controlled trial studies, across any setting, describing validated assessment instruments, symptoms, hospitalisation, discharge destination or mortality beyond 28-days after COVID-19 onset. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers. Methods: Principal investigators contributed fully anonymised individual participant data. Demography, equity and symptoms were described. Assessment instruments were mapped to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Factors associated with outcomes at 3–6 months, 9–12 months and beyond 12 months of index infection, for n > 500 individual participant data and > 1 data set were described using ratio of difference, point estimates, odds ratio and 95% confidence interval, as appropriate. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool described study quality; models were appraised using a Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-informed approach; heterogeneity was described using I ² . Outcome measures: Included overall perception of health, multidomain cognitive function, anxiety, depression, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, fatigue, strength, walking ability, mobility, coping with daily life, breathlessness, mortality, later hospitalisation and health-related quality of life. Results: PRECIOUS collated 116 data sets from 40 countries (individual participant data = 62,849), comprising 20 randomised controlled trials, 13 case-control, 60 cohort 2 longitudinal, 1 survey and 20 other study types. Participants’ median age was 58 years interquartile range (45–68); 34,185 (54.4%) were female; 158 unique symptoms and 137 unique assessment instruments were captured, predominantly describing International Classification of Function, Disability and Health-body functions. Women had poorer outcomes across 30/37 models, compared with men. In 15/37 models, pre-existing lung disease and increasing age were associated with poorer outcomes; hospitalisation, diabetes and chronic kidney disease were each associated with poorer outcomes in 8/37 models. Initial hospitalisation resulted in lower health-related quality of life that did not recover for up to 2 years after initial infection. Heterogeneity was low in 34/37 models; 22/37 models were of moderate and 11/37 were of low quality. Limitations: Use of secondary data limits available covariates, outcomes and time points to those included in primary data sets; evidence was primarily based on high-income countries. There was a lack of data on longer-term healthcare resource use to estimate the costs to the healthcare system. Conclusions: PRECIOUS contributes to the overall picture of long-term COVID-19 outcomes beyond the long-COVID condition and highlights poorer long-term outcomes in women and people with pre-existing comorbidities. Future work: Evidence gaps included healthcare resource use, isolation, loneliness, societal participation and return to work outcomes. Data are needed on the role of health inequity on long-term outcomes. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO (CRD42020224323, IRAS ID: 293578). Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR132895) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research ; Vol. 14, No. 29. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

In this study, we analyzed long-term sequelae in patients hospitalized at Montichiari Hospital (Brescia, Italy) during the COVID-19 acute phase, who needed a high-flow oxygen treatment. The follow-up evaluation has been performed after more than one year from discharge through a quality-of-life phone interview, standard laboratory tests, chest computed tomography, and global spirometry with an evaluation of the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO). In our analysis, we found that patients who needed high FiO2 support during the acute phase, independently from the device used to administer it, showed a long-term heavy burden of pulmonary consequences: more than half of patients presented radiological alterations and persistent dyspnea or DLCO alterations; about 17% of them had alterations compatible with pulmonary fibrosis. Further analysis included a comparison of long-term consequences in patients treated with different devices. An interesting result was that prolonged positive pressure ventilation treatment didn’t seem to cause persistent pulmonary damage and thus could be considered a safe approach. In conclusion, this study confirms the heavy quality-of-life impact of moderate to severe COVID-19 and highlights the importance of recognizing patients who will benefit from rehabilitative programs and customized follow-up depending on the acute phase disease severity.

Objective: SARS-CoV2 infection can lead to several clinical scenarios, named COVID-19, ranging from mild manifestations to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), coagulation alterations and endothelial dysfunction. The functional impairment of the microcirculation seems play a key role in the pathophysiology and clinical consequences of COVID-19. However, to date there is no evidence of structural microvascular damage related to COVID-19. Design and method: The aim of this study is to investigate microvascular alterations by adaptive optics and vide-ocapillaroscopy in patients recently admitted for COVID-19 and re-evaluated one year later. Methods: We enrolled 153 patients admitted between February and April 2020 at the Hospital of Montichiari (Brescia) and at the Internal Medicine Department of ASST Spedali Civili - University of Brescia for respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV2-related interstitial pneumonia. Patients were evaluated two months after nalysedsation and after one year. All patients underwent a venous blood sampling for hematochemical tests, evaluation of retinal arteriolar morphology by adaptive optics, assessment of basal and total capillary density (BCD and TCD respectively) at the dorsum of the fourth finger of the non-dominant hand by videocapillaroscopy. Results: Fifty patients with completed follow-up were nalysed. An increase of internal lumen (93.8 ± 13.3 vs. 97.3 ± 14.2 micron, p < 0.001) and a reduction of wall to lumen ratio (WLR 0.30 ± 0.03 vs. 0.27 ± 0.03, p < 0.001) were observed at the follow up visit after one year (Figure). No significant differences were observed in BCD in the dorsum of the finger after one year, whereas a significant reduction in TCD was observed (p < 0.001). Microvascular changes were independent of body mass index and the presence of hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Conclusions: Preliminary data from this study show that patients with SARS-Cov2 infection present an improvement of microvascular structure after one year from the disease, such as a reduction in WLR of retinal arterioles. This suggests that COVID19 might induce structural alterations in the microcirculation which contribute to vascular damage. These changes do not seem to be influenced by the weight, presence of hypertension or diabetes.