[Expert opinion on strategies to improve vaccination coverage against seasonal influenza]. / Documento de opinión de expertos para la mejora de la cobertura vacunal frente a la gripe estacional.

Seasonal flu continues to be a major public health concern, and the influenza vaccine remains the most effective preventive measure. In Spain, vaccination coverage data from previous seasons show vaccination rates well below official targets; however, these figures improved significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the importance of achieving and maintaining high vaccination rates in order to avoid the clinical and economic impact of influenza, our multidisciplinary group of experts on vaccines analyzed the impact of low vaccination rates in Spain and drafted a series of measures to boost influenza vaccination coverage, particularly among priority groups.

[Palliative care needs in the inmobilized population of a Primary Care area in Vigo Spain]. / Necesidad de cuidados paliativos en la población inmovilizada de un centro de salud de Vigo.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE: To determine palliative care needs in a sample of people with mobility problems in the area of the C.S. Matama by using the NECPAL instrument (identification and integral-integrated care of people with advanced chronic diseases in social and healthcare provision services). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study of patients immobilized in a health centre in Vigo (87 subjects overall). RESULTS: The average age of our patients is 84.34 years and 82% are women. The most frequent immobilization type was the patient's inability to leave their home (64%). The result of this test was positive in 38% of cases (33 patients), most of whom have chronic diseases and only 1 patient has been diagnosed with cancer. There is a significant negative association between the score obtained on the Barthel scale and the ratio of positives to the test. Concerning the use of resources there are important differences regarding hospital admissions and PHC depending on the outcome of the test. These differences were statistically significant with regard to PHC and emergency consultations. CONCLUSIONS: An immobilized patient is not synonymous with a patient in need of palliative care; the tool used has been proved to be useful to detect this need, which concerns a third of our patients. The results of the questionnaire of need for care palliative (NECPAL) relate well to the basic activities of daily living (Barthel scale score) and to indicators of use of health services.

Model predicting survival/exitus after traumatic brain injury: biomarker S100B 24h.

BACKGROUND: The enigma of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), reflected in recent scientific literature, is its uncertain consequences, variability of the final prognosis with apparently similar TBI, necessity for peripheral biomarkers, and more specific predictive models. OBJECTIVES: To study the relationship between serum S100B and survival in TBI patients in various serious situations; the S100B level in patients without traumatic pathology or associated tumour, subjected to stressful situations such as neurological intensive care unit (NICU) stay; the possible overestimation caused by extracerebral liberation in TBI patients and associated polytraumatism; the predictive cutoffs to determine the most sensitive and specific chronology; and achieve a predictive prognostic model. METHODS: Patients admitted to the NICU within 6 hours after TBI were selected. We measured: a) clinical: exitus yes/no; age and gender, traumatic mechanism, polytraumatism yes/no, GCS score, unconsciousness duration, amnesia duration, neurological focality, and surgical interventions; b) radiological: CT scan for radiological lesions; c) biochemical: serum SB100B at 6, 24, 48 and 72 hours after TBI and drug abuse detected in the urine; d) GOS on hospital discharge. RESULTS: N: 149 TBI patients, independent of polytraumatism, mean serum S100B at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours: 2.1, 1.3, 1.2, and 0.6 microg/L, respectively; N: 124 without associated polytraumatism, S100B at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours: 2.0, 1.4, 1.3, and 0.6 microg/L; N: 50 control I S100B 24 hours: 0.17 microg/L (0.04 - 0.56) and 25 healthy subjects S100B 0.057 microg/L (0.02-0.094). CONCLUSIONS: Significantly higher S100B levels are observed on exitus, with excellent TBI prognosis and evolution performance. Hospital stay in the NICU produces significant increases in S100B compared to healthy subjects, without invalidating it as a biomarker. Polytraumatism associated to TBI does not significantly alter S100B levels. S100B at 24 hours > or = 0.90 microg/L appears to predict unfavourable TBI evolution with a NPV: 94.2% and PPV: 54.9%. We propose a predictive model when we associate S100B at 24 hours with amnesia duration over 30 minutes with a NPV of 85.5% and a PPV of 83.3%.

Nutritional status study of inpatients in hospitals of Galicia.

OBJECTIVE: To know the prevalence of malnutrition and to validate a nutritional screening protocol (SP) in patients hospitalised in Hospitals representative of inpatients admitted for acute illnesses in Galicia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 376 randomised patients (189 female, 210 > or =65 y old) from 12 public hospitals admitted to hospital for acute medical, surgical or trauma illnesses. The patients elicited were evaluated by a simple SP, including variables relative to recent weight changes, serum albumin, lymphocytes, food ingestion and diagnosis at admission (Cardona's Protocol), and with a diagnostic protocol (DP, Subjective Global Assessment). Both SP and DP were performed by personnel trained in nutritional evaluation. Results of SP and DP were compared; principal factors related to malnutrition were also analysed; statistical significance was considered at P<0.05. RESULTS: From patients studied, according to DP 169/360 (46.94%), patients presented malnutrition (134 B category and 35C category). SP rate was significantly related to severity of malnutrition detected by DP (P<0.001). The principal factors related to the presence of malnutrition were older age and degree of metabolic stress. CONCLUSIONS: In adult patients admitted for acute illnesses, the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition is high. The risk was related to age and to metabolic stress. The risk of malnutrition in a hospital setting is evaluated appropriately by a simple screening procedure that may contribute to detecting and correcting malnutrition risk.

[Nosocomial bacteremia in the adult patient. Study of associated costs]. / Bacteriemia nosocomial en el paciente adulto. Estudio de costes asociados.

OBJECTIVE: Nosocomial infection causes a prolonged hospital stay and an increase in care costs. The objective of this study was to determine the length of stay excess and costs attributable to nosocomial bacteremia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of clinical records of 148 patients with nosocomial bacteremia during 1996. A matched case-control study was performed. For matching, the following parameters were used: RDG, year of admission, age 10 years, main diagnosis and number of secondary diagnoses. Costs were determined by excess length of hospital stay and calculating alternative costs. RESULTS: Matching was obtained for 100 cases (67.5%) and cost estimation was performed. Compared with cases, non-matched cases showed differences regarding significant issues for cost, such as hospital stay ( p = 0.01), number of empirical (p = 0.001) or definitive antibiotics (p = 0.03). The median hospital stay for cases was longer than for controls (35 vs 15.5 days, respectively; p = 0.000). When only survivor case-control pairs were considered (n = 75), cases remained in hospital for a median of 36 vs 15 days for controls (p = 0.000). Hospital stay days attributable to nosocomial bacteremia were 19.5 for all matched and 21 for matched survivor cases. Only 76% of cases had stay days attributable to bacteremia. Significant differences between cases and controls included: the mean total costs of admission (p = 0.000), cost of stay (p = 0.001), pharmaceutical expenses (p = 0.000), and cost of microbiological studies (p = 0.000), laboratory work-up (p = 0.001) and radiological studies (p = 0.000). Hospital stay represented more than 60% of costs, followed by pharmaceutical expenses. Cost differences between bacteremic patients and controls, calculated in function of stay median, was 4.424 euros (p = 0.000) and 4.744 euros (p = 0.000) for alternative costs. Ten cases showed a difference that represented more than half of the total difference. CONCLUSIONS: Nosocomial bacteremia represent a stay prolongation and a significant economical burden. Hospital stay and pharmaceutical expenses accounted for the most part of the associated costs. The differences in costs obtained with both methods were small. Since not all selected cases were matched, there may be an error in the appreciation of the difference between cases and controls.

[Seasonal changes in hospitalization and mortality resulting from chronic heart failure in Vigo]. / Variaciones estacionales en la hospitalización y mortalidad por insuficiencia cardiaca crónica en Vigo.

OBJECTIVES: Circannual variation in morbi-mortality for ischemic heart disease is well-known but there are few data focusing on chronic heart failure (CHF). This report analyzes seasonal variations in CHF hospitalizations and mortality in Vigo, Northwest of Spain. METHODS: Data on hospital discharge reports with a diagnosis of CHF (3-digit ICD9 code 428) were obtained from the Clinical Documentation Service at Hospital Meixoeiro (419 beds, population: 167.000 inhabitants > 14 years old). Data were divided in three 4-months periods: winter (november-february, years: 1997-98, 98-99 and 99-00), spring (mars-june, years: 97, 98 and 99) and summer (july-october, years: 97, 98 and 99). Hospitalization rates and mortality were also studied at Cardiology, Internal Medicine and Geriatrics (attending to 81% of patients with CHF). RESULTS: A total of 1.472 CHF hospitalizations were registered (52% male, 83% > 65 years, mean inhospital stay: 13.8 days). Significatives winter increases were noted in global hospitalizations -4.9% (winter) vs. 3.2@1000 (summer) and overall medical services admissions -9.3% (winter) vs. 6.2@1000 (summer). These increases also were observed at specific medical services (Cardiology: +4.9%, Internal Medicine: +6.5%, Geriatrics: +3.2%). There was not seasonal differences in letality or attributable mortality for CHF. Death in patients with a diagnosis of CHF was 4 times more likely. (OR: 3.81; 95% CI: 3.28-4.42). CONCLUSIONS: There are a striking increase in winter hospitalizations for CHF. This diagnosis is associated with an excess of inhospital mortality. Preventive and therapeutic measures taking in account this observation are warranted to reduce the burden of this growing problem.

[A management analysis of bacterial meningitis in a hospital emergency service: the delay from the start of treatment and related factors]. / Análisis del manejo de la meningitis bacteriana en un servicio de urgencias hospitalario: demora del inicio del tratamiento y factores relacionados.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the time elapsed from the patient arrival to the emergency room to the beginning of antibiotic therapy. To identify etiologic factors for treatment delay. METHODS: 73 patients diagnosed of bacterial meningitis in the emergency room and admitted to the hospital were studied. Patient characteristics as well as meningitis predisposing factors, symptoms, physical examination, laboratory data, radiological studies and previous ambulatory treatment, were recorded retrospectively. Arrival time, time expended at diagnostic procedures and time of administration of the first antibiotic dose, as well as the administration place were registered. Patients clinical evolution, and factors influencing the delay of antibiotic administration were analyzed. RESULTS: Median age was 17 years. Patient care was evenly distributed along the day, 80% had a light base risk, 29% had at least a risk factor for meningitis, 22% received antibiotic previously. Clinical presentation was classic in more than 71% of patients. Blood cultures were positive in 41%, and CSF cultures were positive in 63%, 43% of cases were related to Neisseria meningitidis, 20% Streptococcus pneumoniae and unknown bacteria in 31.5%. Computerized Tomography (CT) was performed in 9 cases. Median time from the arrival to the Emergency Room until antibiotic administration was 5 hours and 25 minutes: When antibiotics were given before Lumbar Puncture (LP), it was 2 hours and 50 minutes, 5 hours 20 minutes when therapy was started after LP, and 7 hours and 22 minutes when CT was performed before LP. The only factor showing a statistically significant relation with the time to antibiotic administration was the patient being sent by the primary care physician to the hospital with a presumptive diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (1 hour 20 minutes vs. 5 hours 51 minutes). CONCLUSION: Only a small part of bacterial meningitis cases start antibiotic treatment in the first 30 minutes. Delay is high and it increases when certain diagnostic tests are performed. Information received from the primary care physician, has the highest influence on the beginning of treatment.