Estratificación y monitorización de niveles de adecuación de ingresos urgentes en un hospital de tercer nivel / Classification and monitoring of the appropriateness of emergency admissions in a tertiary hospital

Objetivo: Valorar la adecuación del ingreso urgente de adultos en servicios quirúrgicos y no quirúrgicos, estratificar los servicios clínicos por niveles de inadecuación de ingresos urgentes y comprobar la utilidad de la aplicación de técnicas de evaluación rápida en este tipo de mediciones. Material y métodos: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo en un hospital de tercer nivel, que evalúa las historias clínicas de los ingresos urgentes mediante el protocolo de evaluación de la adecuación (AEP). Se incluyeron los 12 servicios con más volumen de ingresos. Para estratificarlos se construyeron 4 niveles crecientes de inadecuación («A» al «D») fijando valores estándar y umbral de inadecuación en cada uno de ellos y comprobándolos en cada servicio mediante la aceptación de muestras por lotes (LQAS). Se evaluaron aleatoriamente 156 casos (13 por servicio). Se estimó el esfuerzo evaluativo (tiempo invertido). Resultados: El porcentaje de ingresos inadecuados fue del 22,4 ± 6,3%. Nueve servicios (75%) obtuvieron niveles de adecuación buenos o aceptables y uno (8%) inaceptable. El tiempo invertido en la evaluación fue estimado en 17 h. Conclusiones: El AEP resulta útil para evaluar la adecuación de los ingresos y la gestión del proceso «urgencias», aunque su variabilidad impide las comparaciones externas. Su monitorización no implica gran consumo de recursos combinando LQAS con la estimación global de la inadecuación (unificando las muestras) y la estratificación secuencial por niveles. Extender estas técnicas para otros indicadores de calidad que utilicen como fuente de datos la historia clínica o la observación directa puede aumentar la eficiencia de sus planes de monitorización (AU)

Objective: To measure the appropriateness of hospital admissions, to classify its Clinical Services(CS) according to the level of inappropriateness, and to determine the usefulness of applying rapid assessment techniques (lot quality assurance sampling) in these types of measurements. Material and methods: A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary hospital to assess the clinical records of emergency admissions to the 12 CS with a higher volume of admissions, using the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP). A four-level («A» to «D») increasingly inadequate admissions scale was constructed setting both standard and threshold values in every stratum. Every CS was classified in one of them using lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS). A total of 156 cases (13 cases from every CS) were assessed. The assessment effort (devoted time) was also estimated. Results: There were 22.4±6.3% of inadequate admissions. In the CS classification, 9 (75%) got a good or acceptable appropriateness level, and only 1 (8%) got an inacceptable level. The time devoted was estimated at 17 hours. Conclusions: AEP is useful to assess the admission appropriateness and may be included in the «Emergencies» process management, although its variability prevents the use for external comparisons. If both LQAS and the appropriateness classification level and the global estimation (by unifying lot samples) are combined, the monitoring is affordable without a great effort. To extend these tools to other quality indicators requiring direct observation or clinical records, manual assessment could improve the monitoring efficiency (AU)

[Classification and monitoring of the appropriateness of emergency admissions in a tertiary hospital]. / Estratificación y monitorización de niveles de adecuación de ingresos urgentes en un hospital de tercer nivel.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the appropriateness of hospital admissions, to classify its Clinical Services (CS) according to the level of inappropriateness, and to determine the usefulness of applying rapid assessment techniques (lot quality assurance sampling) in these types of measurements. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary hospital to assess the clinical records of emergency admissions to the 12 CS with a higher volume of admissions, using the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP). A four-level («A¼ to «D¼) increasingly inadequate admissions scale was constructed setting both standard and threshold values in every stratum. Every CS was classified in one of them using lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS). A total of 156 cases (13 cases from every CS) were assessed. The assessment effort (devoted time) was also estimated. RESULTS: There were 22.4±6.3% of inadequate admissions. In the CS classification, 9 (75%) got a good or acceptable appropriateness level, and only 1 (8%) got an inacceptable level. The time devoted was estimated at 17 hours. CONCLUSIONS: AEP is useful to assess the admission appropriateness and may be included in the «Emergencies¼ process management, although its variability prevents the use for external comparisons. If both LQAS and the appropriateness classification level and the global estimation (by unifying lot samples) are combined, the monitoring is affordable without a great effort. To extend these tools to other quality indicators requiring direct observation or clinical records, manual assessment could improve the monitoring efficiency.

[Susac syndrome as a cause of sensorineural hearing loss]. / Síndrome de Susac como causa de hipoacusia neurosensorial.

Susac's syndrome is an extremely rare clinical manifestation characterized by the triad of fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, sudden visual loss and encephalopathy. Probably underdiagnosed, it affects young women who start the clinical history with headache, visual and hearing disturbances, with neurological findings in MRI. With unknown aetiology, pathogenesis is based on arteriolar microinfarcts in retina, cochlea, and grey and white matter in the brain. Treatment is, as stated in the bibliography and our experience, intravenous high doses of steroids followed by oral steroids together with hyperbaric oxygen to minimize ischaemic lesions. Aspirin associate to nimodipine has been useful to date in the treatment of our patient. We present a case and review the existing literature.