International Survey of Acute Coronavirus Syndromes (ISACS)-COVID-19

To address existing gaps in knowledge on CVD among European countries at different income levels, a collaboration of outcomes-oriented researchers from the University of Bologna partnered with Central and East European (CEE) countries researchers to conduct the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC) investigating underlying threats in patients' CVD health status (NCT01218776).

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, ISACS-TC has promoted a new registry of the existing and further centers of the same geographic areas to support clinical research to prevent, and treat the COVID-19 illness. These efforts are made possible by the generous contributions of clinical research volunteers in some of the countries participating to the prior acute coronary syndrome network.

Scientific and clinical evidence is evolving on the effects of COVID-19, which can affect multiple organ systems. As, so the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgent need for coordination, collaboration, and information-sharing among researchers worldwide. Researchers of many disciplines have, therefore, joined the ISACS-TC investigators to build a multi-disciplinary registry investigating the impact of COVID-19.

Projects should be mainly focused on topics related to:

1. The impact of COVID-19 infection on patients who have attended any health care center (within hospital beds), and who have been discharged or have died at the time of the evaluation. The main objective of this task is to carefully characterize the clinical profile of patients infected with COVID-19 in order to develop a simple prognostic clinical score allowing rapid logistic decision making such as discharge with follow-up, referral to provisional hospitals, or admission to hospital centers with advanced equipment or specialized procedures and techniques. A secondary objective of this retrospective analysis is to evaluate the risk-adjusted influence of prior evidence-based treatments and comorbidities on patients infected with the disease.
2. The second issue relates to the long-term health consequences after COVID-19 infection. Early reports suggest residual effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain, cognitive disturbances, arthralgia, and decline in quality of life. However, the evidence is still scarce. Prior studies did not take into account the vast majority of patients with a mild course of the infection. As well, the definition of the post-acute COVID-19 timeline is evolving. Today we may summarize the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome into two categories: