Adecuación del uso de los servicios médicos de urgencias por parte del paciente adolescente / Adequacy of adolescent patients´ use of emergency medical services

Objetivo: Comparar la adecuación de las consultas a urgencias del paciente adolescente que está siendo atendido por el pediatra (12 a 14 años) y los que ya no lo están (15 a 18 años). Métodos: Estudio transversal con pacientes en edades entre 12 y 18 años que acudieron al Servicio de Urgencias del Hospital La Salud de Valencia durante el 2018. Los criterios de adecuación se basaron en el Protocolo de Adecuación de Urgencias Hospitalarias. Las variables de adecuación se describieron mediante frecuencias y como método de comparación se utilizó el test exacto de Fisher y la razón de momios. En todos los casos los contrastes de hipótesis fueron bilaterales, con un nivel de confianza de 95 por ciento y la hipótesis nula (Ho) se rechazó con valor p<0,05. Resultados: Del total de episodios, el 64,9 por ciento (n= 226) fueron adecuados al servicio de urgencias. Esta distribución fue similar dentro de cada uno de los grupos de edad y no se pudo establecer diferencia significativa entre ambos (p= 0,283). Se encontraron diferencias significativas en los criterios de intensidad diagnóstica y tiempo de atención por sexos. Conclusiones: Las cifras son indicativas del mal uso del servicio de urgencias por una parte del paciente adolescente, tanto si está siendo seguido por el pediatra como si no. Ello puede ser una señal del vacío asistencial en el que se encuentran estos pacientes(AU)

Objective: Compare the adequacy of emergency consultations of the adolescent patients being cared by the pediatricians (12 to 14 years) and those who are not (15 to 18 years). Method: Cross-sectional study with patients in the ages from 12 to 18 years who attended the Emergency Service of La Salud Hospital in Valencia during 2018. The adequacy criteria were based on the Adequacy Protocol of Hospital Emergencies. Adequacy variables were described by frequencies and Fisher's exact test and odds ratio were used as a comparison method. In all cases, the hypothesis contrasts were bilateral, with a confidence level of 95 percent and the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected with p<0.05 value. Results: Of the total episodes, 64.9 percent (n= 226) were suitable for emergency services. This distribution was similar within each of the age groups and no significant difference could be made between the two (p= 0.283). Significant differences were found in the criteria of diagnostic intensity and attention time by gender. Conclusions: The figures are indicative of misuse of the emergency service by a part of the adolescent patients, whether or not they are being followed up by the pediatrician. This may be a sign of the healthcare gap in which these patients are located(AU)

Early use of tocilizumab in patients with severe pneumonia secondary to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and poor prognostic criteria: Impact on mortality rate and intensive care unit admission.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, keeps spreading globally. Evidence suggests that a subgroup of patients with severe symptomatology might have cytokine storms, which increases mortality. The use of interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors may help in controlling the pathological immune response to the virus. Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody against IL-6, stands as an optional treatment for COVID-19 patients presenting this inflammatory hyper-response.We conducted a retrospective, observational, cohort study including 50 patients affected by COVID-19 with severe pneumonia and poor prognosis criteria, who have also undergone standard treatment; 36 of these patients additionally received tocilizumab in an early stage. The need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality, recovery of respiratory function, and improvement of biochemical and hematological parameters were compared between cohorts.Most patients were men, non-smokers and the most frequently reported comorbidities were hypertension and diabetes. Recurrent symptoms were fever, cough, and dyspnoea. 54.8% of patients from the tocilizumab group needed intubation, while in the control group 85.7% needed it. Treatment with tocilizumab significatively increased IL-6 levels, (554.45; CI 95% 186.69, 1032.93; P < .05) while C-reactive protein mean levels were reduced (-108.19; CI 95% -140.15, -75.33; P < .05), but no significant difference was found between cohorts. In comparison with the controls, tocilizumab reduced mortality (25.0% vs 42.9%, P = .021) and the number of ICU admissions (63.9% vs 100.0%, P = .021). 44.1% of patients treated with tocilizumab showed favorable radiological evolution, when compared with 15.4% of patients from the control group.Tocilizumab may improve clinical symptoms and mitigate deterioration observed in severe COVID-19 patients, and could be considered as an effective therapeutic option in subjects experiencing a significant inflammatory response to the disease.