The burden of unspecified febrile syndrome in a community hospital of Cuba

The burden of unspecified febrile syndrome in a community hospital of Cuba Article 3, Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2020, Page 6-14 XMLPDF (618.38 K) Document Type: Original Article DOI: 10.21608/MID.2020.26826.1000 Authors Humberto Guanche Garcell email orcid 1; Carlos R Pérez Díazorcid 2; Manuel Ramirez Nodal3; Alfredo Ruiz Lozano4; Carlos Martinez Quesada5; Carlos Omar Mitjans Fuente4 1Hospital Epidemiology Department, Hospital Joaquín Albarrán 2Medical administration, Hospital Joaquín Albarrán 3Internal Medicine Department. Hospital Joaquín Albarrán 4Medical Administration, Hospital Joaquín Albarrán 5Emergency Department, Hospital Joaquín Albarrán Abstract Background: The Cuban health-care system recommends the hospital admissions of patients with unspecified febrile syndrome (UFS) to rule out arboviral diseases and to prevent healthcare associated adverse outcomes. Aim: Evaluate the burden of unspecified febrile syndrome in a Cuban hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Hospital Joaquín Albarrán (La Habana, Cuba) from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019. It was collected the admissions and patients days (total and UFS patients) and laboratory test for dengue diagnosis. Results: During the three-year period, the epidemic curve starts in April-May and decline in November, with the highest peak in August 2019. It was admitted 16964 patients with UFS representing 43% of the hospital admissions, and 43512 patients' days were documented. In 2019 the 51.9% of the hospital admissions and 22.9% of patients' days were related to UFS, and were performed 7492 IgM test (repeated test in 89 patients) and 46.2% were reactive. Conclusion: The hospital admission related to unspecified febrile syndrome constitute a challenge to the organization and the healthcare system to provide the best care for all and minimize its economic impact.