Laboratory considerations amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: the Spedali Civili in Brescia experience

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 emergency has created an enormous stress on providers that have been transformed into coronavirus disease hospitals. This article presents the experience of the clinical laboratory of Spedali Civili in Brescia (a teaching hospital in Lombardy with over 1500 beds) in managing the crisis, and to offer practical considerations for laboratory testing for this cohort of patients. Our contribution is threefold: by comparing the demand for tests in two representative period before and within the crisis, we show the change in compositions of the analytes that other labs may expect; we present the new panels of tests that hospital staff can order with different advantage for wards and laboratory; and we show how to reorganize staff on the basis of changes mentioned above.