Temporary hospitals in times of the COVID pandemic. An example and a practical view.

We describe the most widely used temporary hospital in Europe during the first pandemic wave, its structure, function, and achievements. Other models of care developed during the pandemic around the world were reviewed including their capacity, total bed/ICU bed ratio and time of use. We particularly analyzed the common and differential characteristics of this type of facilities. IFEMA Exhibition Center was transformed into a temporary 1,300-bed hospital, which was in continuous operation for 42 days. A total of 3,817 people were treated, generally patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, 91% of whom had pneumonia. The average length of stay was 5 to 36 days. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (16.5%), diabetes mellitus (9.1%), COPD (6%), asthma (4.6%), obesity (2.9%) and dementia (1.6%). A total of 113 patients (3%) were transferred to another centers for aggravation, 19 (0.5%) were admitted to ICU and 16 patients (0.4%) died. An element of great help to reducing the overload of care in large hospitals during peaks of health emergencies could be these flexible structures capable of absorbing the excess of patients. These must be safe, breaking domestic transmission and guarantee social and emotional needs of patients. The success of these structures depends on delimitation in admission criteria taking into account the proportion of patients who may require, during admission, assistance in the critical care area.

Ultrasonography managed by internists: the stethoscope of 21st century?

Ultrasonography in the hands of the internist can answer important clinical questions quickly at the point of patient care. This technique "enhances" the senses of the physicians and improves their ability to solve the problems of the patient. Point of care ultrasonography performed by clinicians has shown good accuracy in the diagnosis of diverse cardiac, abdominal and vascular pathologic conditions. It may also be useful for evaluation of thyroid, osteoarticular and soft tissue diseases. Furthermore, the use of ultrasound to guide invasive procedures (placement of venous catheters, thoracentesis, paracentesis) reduces the risk of complications. We present 5 cases to illustrate the usefulness of this technique in clinical practice: (i) peripartum cardiomyopathy; (ii) subclinical carotid artery atherosclerosis; (iii) asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm; (iv) tendinitis of long head of biceps brachii and supraspinatus, and (v) spontaneous soleus muscle hematoma.

[Conflictive patients in the emergency room: Definition, classification and ethical aspects]. / Paciente conflictivo en urgencias: definición, tipología y aspectos éticos.

A conflictive patient is one who provokes a problem (a conflict) by their attitude or behavior for the physician. Ethical conflicts in emergency care are common and many of them occur with these patients. Among the most common types of patients who generate personal conflicts with health professionals are overly demanding patients, those who refuse medical interventions, those who are aggressive, litigators, excessively-recurrent users of the heath system and those who go to the emergency room without an urgent condition. A patient may include several of these profiles ("mixed" patient). When they appear, the approach should be, if possible, by a team, establishing a deliberative process. If there is doubt and when possible, the ethics committee of the institution should be consulted, seeking the protocols, this best being institutional, on the subject. After that, if the decision is difficult, support must be sought from the emergency staff and even management. The whole process should be reflected in the clinical history. Specific education in bioethics and communication skills can be of great help to minimize and cope better with long-term conflicts.

[The diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome with a portable device. Our experience with 100 cases]. / El diagnóstico del síndrome de apnea del sueño con un equipo portátil. Nuestra experiencia con 100 casos.

UNLABELLED: Portable devices might be an alternative method to diagnose patients suspected for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). We have analized one hundred patients consecutively referred to our especialized out-patient clinic for sleep breathing disorders. We have used a previously validated portable device-Polygraphics CNS-which records thoracoabdominal movement, nasobuccal airflow, ECG, oxymetry, body position, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Sixty patients showed an apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) > 15. Seven patients showed an AHI > 10f plus symptoms suggestive of OSAS. Two patients had an AHI between 5-10 and very high suspicion for OSAS; a subsequent CPAP treatment showed the disappearance of respiratory events and an evident improvement in oxymetric records. Twenty two patients showed an AHI < 5. Nine patients could not be classified and other diagnostic method were deemed necessary. CONCLUSION: A previously validated cardiorrespiratory portable polygraphic device was useful in most cases for taking diagnostic decisions in OSAS.

[Recurrent infections, severe neutropenia and neutrophil chemotaxis defect in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria]. / Infecciones recurrentes, neutropenia grave y defecto quimiotáctico de los neutrófilos en la hemoglobinuria paroxística nocturna.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare disease, whose origin seems to lie in a acquired defect in the membrane of the pluri-potential hematopoietic cell. Chronic or intermittent acute hemolytic syndrome is the most frequent clinical manifestation, although in the literature there are also some references to the leukocytic and immunologic disorders of this disease. In this paper, we present the case of a 63-year-old patient with NPH who developed severe neutropenia and sustained febrile syndrome. In the past four years, she had suffered frequent episodes of fever and leukopenia, which apparently disappeared spontaneously. In the physical exploration, we observed hepatosplenomegaly. The hemogram showed mild iron deficiency anemia (hemoglobin 10.8 g/dl), severe neutropenia (neutrophil 0.3 x 10(9)/l) and significant reticulocytosis (610 x 10(9)/l). Iron deposits were greatly reduced in the marrow. Simultaneously to a new febrile episode and isolation of Escherichia coli in the urine, there was a severe anemization (hemoglobin 5 g/dl) and a significant thrombopenia (platelets 30 x 10(9)) resulting in a positive hemosiderinuria and sucrose test. The study of the leukocytic function showed a defect in the neutrophil chemotaxis, although a normal phagocytic capacity and microbicidal activity. In the following nine months, the patient had several severe infections, with intense but transitory pancytopenia, which always improved when treating the infection with antibiotics. The patient died due to a septic shock twelve months after the diagnosis. Recurrent febrile episodes and severe neutropenia are very rare in the PNH (less than 4% of the cases). The cause of these disorders is still unknown.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Atypical radiologic manifestations of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia]. / Manifestaciones radiológicas atípicas de la neumonía por Pneumocystis carinii.

Pneumonia due to Pneumocystis carinii (PC) is characterized, in most cases, by the existence of infiltrates of interstitium or bilateral interstitium-alveolar type on the thorax radiography. However atypical radiological findings associated with this type of opportunistic infection are being described more and more frequently. We present two patients with Acquire Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and pulmonary infection due to PC, with very unusual radiological findings. First patient showed multiple pulmonary cavitated nodules; the other a cavitated infiltrate in superior right lobule. Clinicians dealing with AIDS patients must be familiar with this unusual radiologic findings associated with PC in order to avoid diagnostic mistakes.