Characteristics of patients who died in the hospital emergency service during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary hospital in Spain.

The objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of patients who died in the Hospital Emergency Department (HED) of a Spanish third-level hospital, with a special focus on those who died due to SARS-CoV-2. A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including all patients over 18 years old who died in the Hospital Emergency Department (HED) of a Spanish third-level hospital located in Badalona, Spain, from Jun 2019 to Dec 2020. Various sociodemographic, clinical, and diagnostic variables of the patients were analyzed to identify potential risk factors associated with mortality. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 72 patients died in the HED, representing a 42% increase compared to the pre-pandemic period. Of the deceased patients, 11% were attributed to SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, it was found that patients who died from SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave were significantly younger than those in the second wave, with an average age of 78.6 ± 3.1 years in the first wave and 91.8 ± 4.8 years in the second wave. No significant differences were found regarding gender or associated comorbidities. Overall, the mortality rate at the HED in relation to COVID-19 was low, and infected patients died at younger ages during the first wave compared to the second wave.

Prevalencia de tuberculosis en una población procedente de Kosovo acogida en Cataluña / Prevalence of tuberculosis in a population from Kosovo sheltered in Catalonia, Spain

FUNDAMENTO: La tuberculosis entre refugiados es elevada. El objetivo de este trabajo fue detectar casos activos de tuberculosis en una población procedente de Kosovo y describir la prevalencia de infección tuberculosa. PACIENTES Y MÉTODO: Se realizó una prueba de tuberculina a 222 personas acogidas en Cataluña mediante el método de Mantoux, así como una radiografía de tórax. Se calculó la odds ratio (OR) ajustada por edad de presentar una reacción a la tuberculina para diferentes diámetros de induración según el antecedente vacunal con BCG. RESULTADOS: No se detectaron casos de tuberculosis activa. El 82 por ciento de la población estaba vacunada con BCG. La OR de presentar una reacción a la tuberculina fue superior y estadísticamente significativa en las personas vacunadas respecto a las no vacunadas para induraciones iguales o superiores a 5 y 10 mm (OR: 4,5 y 3,6, respectivamente). CONCLUSIONES: En esta población, en vacunados con BCG puede considerarse infección por Mycobacterium tuberculosis a partir de 15 mm de induración (AU)