In the midst of the long wait that can last from three to four hours, the sound of someone coughing runs through the white tents of respiratory symptoms that are located outside the IESS Quito Sur hospital. There are children and adults.
Tailin, 3 years old, with glassy eyes from body discomfort, fever, cough, waited with his mother, Carolina Santos. The cough has not subsided for three weeks and she came down with a fever again yesterday, her mother said.
The 34-year-old woman pointed out that she had been waiting for about four hours in a health center, but since the doctor did not arrive, she preferred to go to that hospital and although she had already been waiting for 30 minutes, she maintained that care was progressing.
The girl stopped going to school. Her other daughter, 14 years old, is on medication, but going to face-to-face classes.
COE will meet to analyze the increase in respiratory infections
A few meters further, the body, the throat, the head is what hurt Esperanza Delgado, 59 years old.
He suffered from this condition since last Saturday.
The woman estimated that she had arrived at 08:00, it was past 12:00 this Tuesday, December 6, and she was still waiting sitting in a chair.
But not only she was sick in her family, but also her daughter and her husband. For her, he infected them because he had returned on Friday with discomfort.
November closed with some 8,000 attentions with respiratory symptoms in pediatric patients at the IESS Quito Sur hospital. In October, there were 3,600.
Learn about the opening hours and vaccination points against COVID-19 in Zone 8 that covers Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón
Juan Sánchez, general manager of that health home, indicated that during the last two months, there has been a sustained increase in the demand for patients who go to the emergency room with diseases or respiratory symptoms and mainly in children.
While in adults, the increase is 35%, in children it has been up to 300%.
Sánchez added that certain areas such as scheduled surgeries or certain outpatient areas such as family medicine and pediatric subspecialties have been closed to allocate these personnel to the care of children. He noted that more hospital beds have been opened.
“It obviously generates greater demand in hospital services and greater demand in emergency rooms with waiting times that can be prolonged in patients. We have an average wait time between 3 and 4 hours,” she added.
He delimited that it seeks to expand the attention capacity, but clarified that there is no overflow. During this week they will expand to 140 hospital beds for pediatrics and up to 15 rapid emergency care offices.
95% of patients are mild that can be treated at home, said Sánchez, but require medical consultation to identify clinical pictures. 5% need short stays in emergency rooms or hospitalization.
Know the symptoms of influenza, one of the respiratory diseases that appear in winter
Greta Muñoz, medical director of the Baca Ortiz Pediatric Hospital and infectious disease specialist, indicated that due to the rainy season that occurs there is an increase in respiratory infections.
From two to three weeks ago, there has been an increase of around 35 to 40 patients with respiratory disorders, mostly under 5 years of age, who go to the emergency room, he indicated.
However, he added, there is a downward trend from last week to this.
Of the cases, he noted, the majority are mild that do not require hospitalization and 10% may need admission and if so, they will require a short hospital stay.
A mild condition is one that presents a slight cough, abundant cold, little or no fever, and no respiratory distress.
A severe case presents respiratory distress, high fever, with altered general condition.
Muñoz mentioned that there are very few or almost no cases of COVID-19. I do not know plans to increase more staff.
Since the beginning of November, infections by both influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, other viruses, in addition to COVID-19, have already begun to appear, and during the last three to four weeks there has been a significant increase, said the Minister of Health, José Ruales. .
He added that this increase is almost three times more if compared to 2021.
He argued that there is a significant increase in coronaviruses on the Coast, especially in Guayaquil, Los Ríos, Manabí, while in Quito, although there is an increase in coronaviruses, most of it corresponds to other types of respiratory viruses.
“At the beginning of the year, almost all the cases were COVID, the serious cases. Currently the cases that are going to require hospitalization or treatment are basically influenza…”, said the official in Teleamazon.
He recalled what the protection measures should be: wear a mask if you have a respiratory symptom such as flu, cough, nasal congestion, fever and thus avoid infecting your family or others, and isolate yourself for at least 5 days. Also keep washing your hands.
In Guayaquil hospitals, contingency plans are implemented in the face of an increase in respiratory cases
“Despite the fact that there is a significant increase in cases at the level of external consultation, emergency, in public services, in private pediatricians, in private care, we do not have an increase in hospitalization or in the ICU, we do not have an increase in deaths…”, said Ruales.
The Ministry of Health mobilizes more personnel in outpatient clinics to provide adequate care, but not in hospital care, where they are alert in case there is an increase in cases, which has not been observed so far, he said.
Sánchez estimated that the epidemic peak will pass between 3 to 6 weeks to reschedule the postponed surgeries at the IESS Quito Sur hospital. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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