LAUSR

COVID-19 pandemic is causing major health consequences in affected persons needing hospital admission. Since the first epidemic outbreak in China we have learned that several factors including older age, comorbidities and individual immunological responses to infection may differently address the risk of disease progression and outcome. Moreover, there is now quite a unanimous consensus that mortality rate of critically ill patients with SARS-CoV2 pneumonia admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is really considerable and even a slightly higher than that recorded in patients with moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Different attempts using experimental anti-viral and/or systemic anti-inflammatory drugs have been made to counteract both disease progression and fatal prognosis. Meanwhile, an expert opinion-based document was launched in order to address the early management-related actions for the individual patient, including the choice of an appropriate setting of care and the timing for non-invasive (NIV) or invasive mechanical ventilation (MV). In light of this, we here report the clinical course of a 72-year old Caucasian male (M.A.) admitted for SARSCoV2 pneumonia at our University Hospital in Modena on last March 5th. A multidisciplinary medical staff composed of different specialists (infectious diseases, pulmonology,