Mayor riesgo de infecciones asociadas a atención en salud en niños con necesidades especiales hospitalizados / Higher risk for health care associated infections in hospitalized children with special health needs

Background: Nosocomial infections (NIs) represent an important public health issue, being associated with high morbidity, mortality and costs. Objectives: To identify risk factors of NIs in a cohort of hospitalized pediatric patients, with emphasis in children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Patients and Methods: We studied patients hospitalized in Sótero del Río Pediatric Hospital at Santiago-Chile, between September and December, 2009. Relative Risk (RR) was calculated between CSHCN-3 (children attended by three or more health care professionals) versus non CSHCN-3, and between children with medical complexity (CMC) versus non CMC, using log-binomial models. Results: 920 patients were included. Prevalence of NIs was 12.7%. The most frequent diagnoses were gastrointestinal and respiratory viral infections. Both crude and adjusted by confounders (age and sex), CSHCN-3 and CMC presented significantly higher risk of NIs compared to patients without these conditions (RR 2.91 and RR 2.16, respectively). Conclusion: CSHCN-3 and CMC represent independent conditions associated to a 2-3 fold risk of NIs.

Introducción: Las infecciones asociadas a atención en salud (IAAS) representan un problema frecuente, el cual se asocia a una mayor morbimortalidad y costos. Objetivos: Evaluar factores de riesgo de IAAS en una cohorte de niños hospitalizados, con énfasis en el grupo de niños y adolescentes con necesidades especiales de atención en salud (NANEAS). Materiales y Métodos: Estudio realizado en el Hospital Sótero del Río, Santiago-Chile, entre septiembre y diciembre de 2009. Se calculó riesgo relativo (RR) de IAAS entre pacientes NANEAS-3 (niños controlados por tres o más profesionales de la salud) versus no NANEAS-3, y entre niños con complejidad médica (NCM) versus no NCM, a través de modelos log-binomial. Resultados: Se obtuvo información de 920 pacientes. Un 12,7% presentó IAAS; las más frecuentes fueron infecciones virales gastrointestinales y respiratorias. Tanto en forma cruda como ajustada por variables confundentes (edad y sexo), los pacientes NANEAS-3 y NCM presentaron significativamente mayor riesgo de IAAS versus aquellos que no cumplían estas definiciones (RR 2,91 y RR 2,16, respectivamente). Conclusiones: Los pacientes NANEAS-3 y NCM representan condiciones independientes asociadas a un riesgo dos a tres veces mayor de IAAS.

Pediatria ambiental: um tema emergente / Environmental pediatrics: an emerging issue

OBJETIVO: Revisar os artigos mais relevantes sobre a pediatria ambiental, seus efeitos potenciais para a saúde e, especialmente, seus avanços na prevenção. FONTES DOS DADOS: Foi realizada uma pesquisa utilizando as bases de dados MEDLINE/PubMed e SciELO. Foram revisados artigos de 1990 a 2010, além de capítulos de livros relacionados à pediatria ambiental. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Há uma variedade significativa de fatores que tornam as crianças altamente vulneráveis à exposição a riscos ambientais, associados principalmente ao consumo comparativamente maior de água, comida e ar por parte da criança, em relação ao seu peso corporal. De acordo com a Organização Mundial de Saúde, mais de 3 milhões de crianças menores de 5 anos morrem devido a doenças relacionadas ao meio ambiente. Aproximadamente 30-40 por cento das doenças pediátricas estão relacionadas a fatores ambientais. As crianças estão constantemente expostas a vários riscos ambientais para a saúde, dentre os quais se destacam: água contaminada, falta de condições adequadas de saneamento, poluição do ar, vetores de doenças, perigos químicos, injúrias e acidentes. CONCLUSÕES: Atualmente, os pediatras são desafiados a tratar das necessidades de saúde ligadas à pediatria ambiental. A história pediátrica deve ser mais abrangente, acrescentando-se questões pontuais que ajudem a identificar potenciais riscos ambientais. A conscientização e o entendimento sobre os efeitos nocivos das várias condições ambientais e o conhecimento sobre as medidas de prevenção relacionadas resultarão em intervenções oportunas e adequadas que melhorarão a saúde e o desenvolvimento das nossas crianças.

OBJECTIVE: To review the most relevant articles regarding environmental pediatrics, its potential effects on health, and especially its advances in prevention. SOURCES: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE/PubMed and SciELO databases. Articles from 1990 to 2010 were reviewed, in addition to book chapters related to environmental pediatrics. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: There is a significant variety of factors that make children highly vulnerable to environmental hazard exposure, which are mainly associated with children’s comparatively greater consumption of water, food, and air in relation to body weight. According to the World Health Organization, every year more than 3 million children under the age of 5 die because of environment-related conditions. Approximately 30 to 40 percent of pediatric diseases are related to environmental factors. Children are constantly exposed to various environmental health hazards, among which the following stand out: contaminated water, lack of adequate sanitation facilities, air pollution, disease vectors, chemical hazards, injuries, and accidents. CONCLUSIONS: Nowadays, pediatricians are challenged to address environmental pediatrics health care needs. The pediatric health history needs to be more comprehensive by adding pointed questions to help identify potential environmental risks. Awareness and understanding of the noxious effects of various environmental conditions and knowledge of the related prevention measures will result in timely and adequate interventions that will improve our children’s health and development.