Emergency centre reorganization in preparation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A district hospital's dynamic adaptation response

The COVID-19 global pandemic forced healthcare facilities to put special isolation measures in place to limit nosocomial transmission. Cohorting is such a measure and refers to placing infected patients (or under investigation) together in a designated area. This report describes the physical reorganisation of the emergency centre at Khayelitsha Hospital, a district level hospital in Cape Town, South Africa in preparation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The preparation included the identification of a person under investigation (PUI) room, converting short stay wards into COVID-19 isolation areas, and relocating the paediatric section to an area outside the emergency centre. Finally, we had to divide the emergency centre into a respiratory and non-respiratory side by utilising part of the hospital's main reception. We are positive that the preparation and reorganization of the emergency centre will limit nosocomial transmission during the expected COVID-19 surge. Our experience in adapting to COVID-19 may have useful implications for ECs throughout South Africa and in low-and-middle income countries that are preparing for this pandemic

Perfil da demanda de um serviço de oftalmologia em uma unidade de emergência / Demanding profile of an ophthalmological service in an emergency unit

Foram estudados 301 pacientes atendidos no Serviço de Oftalmologia da Unidade de Emergência do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeiräo Preto da Universidade de Sao Paulo. Destes, 176 (58,5%) foram considerados como casos de emergência. A faixa etária mais acometida foi a de 15 a 45 anos, sendo os homens mais atingidos que as mulheres. O perfil de morbidade se caracterizou por causas traumáticas, predominantemente, muitas vezes com características profissionais