Luigi Cavanna
Scientific career
Fieldsoncology
InstitutionsHospital of Piacenza

Luigi Cavanna is an Italian doctor. He is the head of the hematology and oncology ward at the Guglielmo da Saliceto hospital in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna.[1][2][3]

COVID-19 pandemic

During the second week of March 2020, in the beginning of the pandemic lockdown in Italy, Cavanna realized that too many critically-ill COVID-19 patients were arriving at his hospital and that they could have been treated earlier before the escalation of the symptoms.[4] He therefore became one of the first doctors in Italy to focus on house calls for COVID-19 patients.[5][6][7]

Despite his age, Cavanna visited his patients in their homes in the province of Piacenza, wearing full-body protective gear.[8][9] His protocol focuses on chest ultrasound with portable equipment,[6][9] a rapid start of treatment, and remote monitoring of blood oxygen level.[10][11] Early in the pandemic, Cavanna was also in favor of the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 home-bound patients.[12][4]

According to the data he collected during the pandemic, fewer than 5% of the patients he treated at home worsened to the point where they had to be hospitalized,[13][14] thus proving that a response in the early days could make a difference[15] and helped the hospitals by freeing up space for patients who could not be treated at home.[8]

Due to his efforts, Cavanna became famous internationally.[6] He also received national recognition. In July 2020 he was given the title of poliziotto ad honorem (ad honorem policeman) by the Polizia di Stato,[16] in October he received a special award of the Italian association of Medical Oncology[17] and in December he was elected as a positive symbol by the Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti Civili. (Italian Coalition for Freedom and Civil Rights)[11]

Cavanna was also author of one of the first studies of oncology treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic outside China, published on Future Oncology in May 2020.[15][18]

References

  1. ↑ "Benefattore dona un milione all'ospedale" (in Italian). La Provincia di Cremona. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Coronavirus: neue Methoden zur Behandlung in Italien" (in German). Euronews. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ↑ La Vita in Diretta - I racconti da un paese unito nell'emergenza (in Italian). Rai Uno.
  4. 1 2 Berardi, Francesca (9 April 2020). "The Italian Doctor Flattening the Curve by Treating COVID-19 Patients in Their Homes". Time. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Italy's doctors face new threat: Conspiracy theories". Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Schiavi, Giangiacomo (20 May 2019). "Luigi Cavanna, un medico in famiglia Ha salvato i pazienti, casa per casa" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Bianchini, Veronica (26 November 2020). "Un angelo alla mia porta, il medico che cura il Covid casa per casa". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 Pele, Charlene; Calanni, Antonio (13 December 2020). "AP PHOTOS: Italian doctors fighting pandemic in rural areas". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 ARD-Mittagsmagazin (in German). Das Erste. 4 December 2020. 33 minutes in. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Mishra, Pratapaditya (17 August 2020). "Battling Corona: taking a leaf out of the Italian book" (in Italian). OrissaPOST. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  11. 1 2 Cild - Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti civili (21 December 2020). "Storie di solidarietà: il medico che ha ispirato il "modello Piacenza" per aiutare i malati di Covid". La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  12. ↑ D'Angelo, Peter. "Coronavirus – Da Nord a Sud 1039 pazienti trattati a casa con idrossiclorochina. Il punto sulla sperimentazione: "Crollo dei ricoveri"" (in Italian). Il Fatto Quotidiano. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  13. ↑ De Lorenzo, Giuseppe; Indini, Andrea (8 May 2020). "Coronavirus, il metodo che evita la strage: "Nessun paziente è morto"" (in Italian). Il Giornale. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Covid, il medico che cura i malati a casa: "L'intervento a domicilio evita l'affollamento al Pronto Soccorso"" (in Italian). TgCom24. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Covid nei malati oncologici, da Piacenza lo studio mondiale" (in Italian). Libertà. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  16. ↑ ""Poliziotto ad honorem": premiati infermiera di Bergamo e medico di Piacenza" (in Italian). Polizia di Stato. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Impegno contro il Covid", associazione italiana di oncologia premia Cavanna" (in Italian). Libertà. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  18. ↑ Stroppa, Elisa Maria; Toscani, Ilaria; Citterio, Chiara; Anselmi, Elisa; Zaffignani, Elena; Codeluppi, Mauro; Cavanna, Luigi (2020). "Coronavirus disease-2019 in cancer patients. A report of the first 25 cancer patients in a western country (Italy)". Future Oncology. 16 (20): 1425–1432. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0369. ISSN 1479-6694. PMC 7222528. PMID 32403946.
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