Identifying Adverse Events in Patients Hospitalized in Isolation or Quarantine Due to COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the adverse events of COVID-19 isolation or quarantine in patients with nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to the Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study with 30-day follow-up of 126 patients diagnosed with nosocomial COVID-19 through polymerase chain reaction test, between May 1 and June 30, 2022, in a 500-bed university hospital in the island of Gran Canaria. RESULTS: Between May 1 and July 30, 2022, a total of 2250 patients were admitted to the Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria; 126 of them were diagnosed with nosocomial COVID-19 through a polymerase chain reaction test. The rate of nosocomial COVID-19 infection was 5.6%. From the 126 patients of the study population, 27 experienced an adverse event (21.4%) and 2 experienced 2 adverse events (1.6%) due to COVID-19 isolation or quarantine. Thus, a total of 31 adverse events occurred in 29 patients. These events included the following: delay in transfer to other centers of 11 patients who were pending of receiving a negative COVID-19 test result (35.5%), delay or cancellation of diagnostic tests in 9 patients (29%), delay or cancellation of doctor visit in 7 patients (22.6%), and delay or cancellation of surgical or other interventions in 4 patients (12.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Because of the adverse consequences of nosocomial COVID-19 infection in hospitalized patients, measures should be observed for the prevention and control of nosocomial infection transmission, and adverse events related to patient safety issues in health care in isolated or quarantined COVID-19 patients should be prevented.

Quiste del ligamento redondo, una lesión rara que simula una hernia inguinal: reporte de un caso / Round ligament cyst, a rare condition simulating inguinal hernia: case report

Cysts of the inguinal cord are disorders that simulate inguinal hernias and manifest as inguinal masses and, in some cases, are accompanied by pain that can simulate a complicated inguinal hernia. We report the third case of a round ligament cyst in a 21-year-old female with a mass in the right inguinal area with intermittent pain. The patient was subjected to surgical exploration of the right inguinal area where a round ligament cyst was found. The ligament was resected and reported as a serous cyst. The patient's outcome was excellent and she was discharged 24 h after surgery. She has been followed up for 3 months without recurrence. Round ligament cysts are very rare disorders, and the diagnosis is perioperative. Resection of the round ligament causes complete symptom relief, and every case requires inguinal hernioraphy.

[Round ligament cyst, a rare condition simulating inguinal hernia. Case report]. / Quiste del ligamento redondo, una lesión rara que simula una hernia inguinal. Reporte de un caso.

Cysts of the inguinal cord are disorders that simulate inguinal hernias and manifest as inguinal masses and, in some cases, are accompanied by pain that can simulate a complicated inguinal hernia. We report the third case of a round ligament cyst in a 21-year-old female with a mass in the right inguinal area with intermittent pain. The patient was subjected to surgical exploration of the right inguinal area where a round ligament cyst was found. The ligament was resected and reported as a serous cyst. The patient's outcome was excellent and she was discharged 24 h after surgery. She has been followed up for 3 months without recurrence. Round ligament cysts are very rare disorders, and the diagnosis is perioperative. Resection of the round ligament causes complete symptom relief, and every case requires inguinal hernioraphy.

[Comparative study between rapid urease test, imprint and histopathological study for Helicobacter pylori diagnosis]. / Estudio comparativo entre las pruebas de ureasa rápida, la impronta y el estudio histopatológico para el diagnóstico de Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori infection is relevant, due to its role in different gastric pathologies; there are several diagnostic methods, which are divided into invasive and non-invasive. In the first category histology has been considered the gold standard, while other methods include imprint with Gram stain and rapid urease test, which can produce dependable results. The aim of this study is to compare several available techniques for H. pylori diagnosis to know their sensitivity and specificity. We studied 88 patients, 50 women and 38 men, with age range from 17 to 83 years (48.8+/-14.3) from the Endoscopy Department of the 20 de Noviembre Medical Center; in all five to eight biopsies were taken from gastric mucosa to perform rapid urease test, Gram-stained imprint and histology. Endoscopic findings included gastritis (87.50%), pangastritis (2.30%) and another diagnoses (10.22%). Rapid urease test was positive in 40 patients and negative in 48, while imprint was 34 and 54, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were as follows: rapid urease test, 84.8 and 78.5%, and imprint 75.8 and 83.6%, respectively. In conclusion, H. pylori diagnosis by rapid urease test is a dependable and quick method. On the other hand, imprint is useful but depends on the ability of the personnel who perform the test.

[Simplified nutritional evaluation system for surgical patients]. / Sistema de evaluación nutricional simplificado para pacientes quirúrgicos.

OBJECTIVE: To determine a simplified method for nutritional status evaluation in surgical patients to identify patients prone to develop complications. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out to determine prognostic index of patients in whom major abdominal surgery was performed, based on nutritional assessment. We proposed a simplified and accessible method for daily evaluation of patients in any hospital even in an emergency setting. The following parameters were used: complete blood count (CBC); blood chemistry (BC); protrombine time (PT); total serum protein (TSP), and anthropometrics. RESULTS: Study population consisted of 200 patients divided in two groups depending on type of surgical intervention, i.e., emergency or elective procedure. Complications associated with different stages of malnourishment were analyzed by simplified nutritional assessment system. Of 200 patients analyzed, 123 had several stages of malnutrition, 62 were malnourished, complicated patients (50.41%), and 77 had adequate nutritional status; of these, 10 also had complications (12.99%). DISCUSSION: We were able to conclude that simplified nutritional assessment system is not a useful absolute predictive indicator of possible complications. However, some parameters could be useful to identify patients with nutritional depletion with tendency for post-surgical complications.

[Manual mechanical anastomosis colorectal surgery]. / Anastomosis manual versus anastomosis mecánica en cirugía colorrectal.

OBJECTIVE: To determine advantages and disadvantages of manual vs mechanical sutures in colon surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study of clinical files of 84 colon surgery patients was conducted, to establish morbidity and mortality of these patients with special emphasis in length of surgical procedure and type of suture used during procedure (either manual or mechanical). RESULTS: Of 84 patients included in this study, manual suture was used in 70 (group 1) and mechanical suture in 14 (group 2). Most common preoperative diagnosis was diverticular disease in 22 cases (26.2%), 20 for group with manual suture, and two for group with mechanical suture. Most common surgical procedure was colectomy with ileoproctoanastomosis in group 1 and lower anterior resection with coloproctoanastomosis in group 2. Five cases presented complications (2.85%) with manual suture, while only one case presented complications in group 2 (7.14%). Main complications were dehiscence in group 1 and stenosis in group 2. DISCUSSION: There were no significant differences between both types of suture in terms of time of surgical procedure; there were no statistical differences for both techniques in terms of morbidity and mortality. However, there is shorter time of recovery in patients in whom mechanical suture was used with less tissue edema due to manipulation and less disability period.