[Epidemiological profile of patients with COVID-19 admitted to a tertiary care public hospital]. / Experiencia de la pandemia por SARS-CoV-2 en un centro hospitalario de alta complejidad en Chile.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge about the epidemiological profile of patients admitted to the hospital for severe COVID infection, allows an adequate health care planning and resource allocation. AIM: To describe the epidemiology of patients with COVID-19 admitted to a public hospital between March 2020 and July 2021. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Demographic variables, comorbidities, ventilatory support requirements, and hospital resources were recorded from clinical records and hospital databases of diagnosis related groups. The primary outcomes were overall mortality and need of ventilatory support. RESULTS: In the study period, 4,474 patients (56% males) were hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Overall mortality was 25.8% and in-hospital mortality was 18%. Invasive and non-invasive ventilatory support was required in 1349 (30.2%) and 2060 (46%) patients, respectively. The most common comorbidities in admitted patients were diabetes mellitus (29.2%), chronic kidney disease (11.1%), and chronic liver disease (10.4%). The readmission rate was 3.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality associated with COVID-19 in this hospital was similar to the rates reported abroad. Local risk predictors for this infection should be identified.

[Cervical mass caused by Salmonella Typhimurium as a clinical presentation of AIDS in a HIV-positive patient]. / Tumor cervical por Salmonella Typhimurium como forma de presentación clínica de SIDA en un paciente con infección por VIH.

Infections due to non-typhi salmonellae (NTS) generally cause a mild and self-limited gastrointestinal disease. However, there have been reports of atypical and severe presentations in immunocompromised patients. We report the case of a male patient who consulted with a cervical mass. He was found to be HIV-positive and Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated in one blood culture and cervical mass tissue culture. We discuss the relevance of infections by NTS in immunodeficient patients because they present with more severe illness than normal population. We emphasize the importance of NTS bacteremia as a marker of underlying immunodeficiency. We present some localized infection sites reported in the literature and their relation with particular diseases. We discuss the future relevance that an early start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may have in HIV patients with NTS acute bacteremia or focal infections. Because infections by NTS can be severe and highly lethal they must be considered in the differential diagnosis of causative organisms of localized infections and bacteremia in HIV patients.

Experiencia de la pandemia por SARS-CoV-2 en un centro hospitalario de alta complejidad en Chile

Background: The knowledge about the epidemiological profile of patients admitted to the hospital for severe COVID infection, allows an adequate health care planning and resource allocation. Aim: To describe the epidemiology of patients with COVID-19 admitted to a public hospital between March 2020 and July 2021. Material and Methods: Demographic variables, comorbidities, ventilatory support requirements, and hospital resources were recorded from clinical records and hospital databases of diagnosis related groups. The primary outcomes were overall mortality and need of ventilatory support. Results: In the study period, 4,474 patients (56% males) were hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Overall mortality was 25.8% and in-hospital mortality was 18%. Invasive and non-invasive ventilatory support was required in 1349 (30.2%) and 2060 (46%) patients, respectively. The most common comorbidities in admitted patients were diabetes mellitus (29.2%), chronic kidney disease (11.1%), and chronic liver disease (10.4%). The readmission rate was 3.2%. Conclusions: Mortality associated with COVID-19 in this hospital was similar to the rates reported abroad. Local risk predictors for this infection should be identified.