P427 IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE ON CARDIOLOGY HEALTH CARE: A SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Abstract Background Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, a progressive migration flow from war regions to many European countries has been observed, with an unavoidable impact on health care systems of the individual host states. With this work, we aimed to evaluate the trend over time in the demand of cardiological services of Ukrainian patients in our centre. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records of our Cardiology Department from January 2015 to December 2022. All cardiological services provided to Ukrainian patients, both in outpatient and inpatient setting, were counted. The average number of services performed annually from 2015 to 2021 was then compared with that observed in 2022. Results The average number of cardiology services annually provided to Ukrainian patients during 2015–2021 was 18.7 vs 60 in 2022. In 2022, compared to the previous period, the total number of services performed by our heart centre increased by 246% and the number of hospital admissions by 16.7%. In detail, we observed an increase in performed ECGs (+ 1125%), echocardiograms ( + 465%), Holter ECGs (+88%) and electrophysiological studies (+110%). The average age of Ukrainian patients referred to our centre in 2022 is similar to that of previous years (59.9±2.4 vs 59.8±2.3 years). Finally, an increase in the number of male subjects, who needed our cardiological services annually, was observed (74% vs 22.5%). Conclusions With the start of the war in Ukraine, compared to the previous six years, we observed an increase in the number of services provided to Ukrainian patients in our centre. These patients were mainly male, both in outpatient and inpatient settings. The NHS will have to cope with this demand, which is bound to increase over time, by promoting and facilitating the access to care for refugee patients not resident in Italy. These preliminary data can be a starting point for a larger multi–centre analysis, which may be helpful to understand the extent of this new challenge.