Estudio IMPULSO: impacto de la COVID-19 en el presente de la oftalmología centrada en superficie ocular y tendencias de futuro

Background and objectiveDigital evolution represents an opportunity for ophthalmology to adapt to new care models. This study aimed to find out how the pandemic has modified the clinical practice and training activities of the ophthalmologist specialized in ocular surface, as well as to analyze emerging trends and needs.Materials and methodsThis study was carried out through an online survey. A committee of 3 specialists developed a questionnaire of 25 questions structured in: 1) Participant profile; 2) Impact of the pandemic on patient management and professional activities; 3) Trends and needs.ResultsSixty-eight clinical ophthalmologists participated. There was a high degree of agreement (90%) that the pandemic has delayed ophthalmological follow-up visits and diagnosis. The participants agreed that the frequency of patients with dry eye disease (75%), stye/chalazion (62%) and blepharitis (60%) has increased. According to 28%, remote monitoring of pathologies such as dry eye, glaucoma, diabetes, conjunctivitis, hyposphagmas, styes, etc., will be common, especially in the young population. This will be especially relevant in chronic or mild pathologies of the ocular surface, and in the follow-up of patients after cataract and diabetic retinopathy interventions.ConclusionsDuring the pandemic, an increase in the incidence of certain ocular surface diseases has been perceived. The telematic follow-up of chronic or mild pathologies of the ocular surface entails the need to provide specific training for both the patient and the healthcare professional, in addition to screening and referral protocols that would optimize the flow of care.     

基于远程医疗的阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停诊疗新模式的建立：一项非劣效随机对照试验研究方案

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是一种慢性病，其患病率高、并发症多、潜在危害大。流行病学研究显示，OSA与多种心血管疾病的发生发展密切相关。目前，我国中重度OSA患者达6 600万，然而约有80%的OSA潜在患者尚未得到及时诊断和治疗。当前OSA的诊断和治疗主要在医院的睡眠中心完成，此过程耗时费力，导致大量患者延误诊治。随着物联网和互联网等新兴技术的发展，远程医疗以其便捷、交互性、高效、共享、连贯及突破时空限制的优势越来越多的被应用于慢性病的诊治与管理中。目前，本中心已初步构建OSA的远程诊疗管理体系，但其临床效能及卫生经济学价值尚需进一步验证。本研究将设计随机对照试验比较OSA新型远程医疗模式和传统医疗模式下的临床效能和卫生经济效益，探讨OSA的远程诊疗模式在使用更低医疗成本中的临床获益是否不劣于传统诊疗模式，以期为医疗资源的高效利用、慢性病远程诊疗的进一步推广奠定基础。     

Características de las unidades de ictus y equipos de ictus en España en el año 2018. Proyecto Pre2Ictus

IntroductionThe aim of this work is to describe the characteristics of stroke units and stroke teams in Spain.MethodWe performed a cross-sectional study based on an ad hoc questionnaire designed by 5 experts and addressed to neurologists leading stroke units/teams that had been operational for ≥ 1 year.ResultsThe survey was completed by 43 stroke units (61% of units in Spain) and 14 stroke teams. The mean (SD) number of neurologists assigned to each unit/team is 4±3. 98% of stroke units (and 38% of stroke teams) have a neurologist on-call available 24hours, 365 days. 98% of stroke units (79% of stroke teams) have specialised nurse, 95% of units (71% of stroke teams) auxiliary personnel, 86% of units (71% of stroke teams) social worker, 81% of stroke units (71% of stroke teams) have a rehabilitation physician and 81% of stroke units (86% of stroke teams) a physiotherapist. Most stroke units (80%) have 4-6 beds with continuous non-invasive monitoring. The mean number of unmonitored beds is 14 (8) for stroke units and 12 (7) for stroke teams. The mean duration of non-invasive monitoring is 3 (1) days. All stroke units and 86% of stroke teams have intravenous thrombolysis available, and 81% of stroke units and 21% of stroke teams are able to perform mechanical thrombectomy, whereas the remaining centres have referral pathways in place. Telestroke systems are available at 44% of stroke units, providing support to a mean of 4 (3) centres. Activity is recorded in clinical registries by 77% of stroke units and 50% of stroke teams, but less than 75% of data is completed in 25% of cases.ConclusionsMost stroke units/teams comply with the current recommendations. The systematic use of clinical registries should be improved to further improve patient care.     

Healthcare outcomes in patients with HIV infection at a tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the care of patients with other diseases. Difficulty in access to healthcare during these months has been especially relevant for persons with HIV infection (PWH). This study therefore sought to ascertain the clinical outcomes and effectiveness of the measures implemented among PWH in a region with one of the highest incidence rates in Europe.MethodsRetrospective, observational, pre-post intervention study to compare the outcomes of PWH attended at a high-complexity healthcare hospital from March to October 2020 and during the same months across the period 2016–2019. The intervention consisted of home drug deliveries and preferential use of non face-to-face consultations. The effectiveness of the measures implemented was determined by reference to the number of emergency visits, hospitalisations, mortality rate, and percentage of PWH with viral load >50 copies, before and after the two pandemic waves.ResultsA total of 2760 PWH were attended from January 2016 to October 2020. During the pandemic, there was a monthly mean of 106.87 telephone consultations and 2075 home deliveries of medical drugs dispensed to ambulatory patients. No statistically significant differences were found between the rate of admission of patients with COVID-HIV co-infection and that of the remaining patients (1172.76 admissions/100,000 population vs. 1424.29, p = 0.401) or in mortality (11.54% vs. 12.96%, p = 0.939). The percentage of PWH with viral load >50 copies was similar before and after the pandemic (1.20% pre-pandemic vs. 0.51% in 2020, p = 0.078).ConclusionOur results show that the strategies implemented during the first 8 months of the pandemic prevented any deterioration in the control and follow-up parameters routinely used on PWH. Furthermore, they contribute to the debate about how telemedicine and telepharmacy can fit into future healthcare models.     

Psoriasis in teledermatology: analysis of the 2016‒2020 period in Santa Catarina

BackgroundPsoriasis is a skin disease that affects 1.3% of Brazilians. The use of teledermatology (TD) in the public health sector has democratized access to dermatological care.ObjectiveTo analyze TD exams with suspected and/or diagnosed psoriasis performed between 2016?2020 in the state of Santa Catarina (SC).MethodsAnalytical cross-sectional observational study that used secondary data collected from the records of TD exams from the Telemedicine and Telehealth System (TTS) of SC. The associations were evaluated by the chi-square test and Student'st test. The significance level was set at 5% (p < 0.05).ResultsDuring the period, 6,146 TD exams were related to psoriasis, 58% due to the diagnosis provided by the reporting dermatologist and 42% exclusively due to the suspected disease on the request of the examination. The male sex predominated among the diagnoses of dermatosis (51%; p < 0.001). Regarding risk classification, psoriasis diagnoses were predominantly yellow (58.7%; p < 0.001) or blue (39.7%; p < 0.001) risk, respectively indicating moderate to severe psoriasis (referral to tertiary care) and mild psoriasis (treatment in the primary health care [PHC] level). True positive tests, suspected by PHC and diagnosed with psoriasis through TD, were 34.1% (p < 0.001).Study limitationsThe TD service is available only for the public health network and analysis for a limited period (five years).ConclusionsPsoriasis diagnoses performed by TD, when compared to other dermatoses, tend to receive treatment at the primary (p < 0.001) or tertiary (p < 0.001) health care level, reducing the number of referrals to the secondary care level.     

Applications,opportunities, and challenges in using Telehealth for burn injury management: A systematic review

IntroductionBurns are global public health devastating and life-threatening injuries. Telehealth can be an appropriate answer for the effective utilization of health care resources, prevention referrals and reduce socio-economic burden of burns injuries. Thus, this study aimed to systematically evaluate the applications, opportunities, and challenges of using telehealth in burn injuries management.MethodsA structured search was conducted according to PRISMA statement guidelines in the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct as well as the Google Scholar for studies published until June 28, 2022. Of the total 2301 yielded studies, 36 articles were included in the final review. Quality appraisal was done according to the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis.ResultsPatient triage, transfer, and referral (38.9%) follow-up (22%), care (22%), consultation (9%), education (3%), and rehabilitation (3%) were the most prevalent application of telehealth, respectively. Our findings identified 72 unique concepts, eight initial themes, and two clinical and administrative final themes for opportunities of using telehealth in burn injury management. Furthermore, we identified 27 unique concepts, three initial themes, and two clinical and administrative final themes for remaining challenges.ConclusionsDespite providing pivotal opportunities such as improving burn injury diagnosis and quality of care, increasing patient and provider satisfaction, and cost containment using telehealth in burn injuries management, the concept faces challenges such as the impossibility of the physical examination of patients and technological difficulties. Our findings provide valuable information for policymakers and decision-makers infield of burn injuries and effective planning for using telehealth technology.