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For Amy Mendoza, the sound of ambulance sirens is so common that it no longer feels like her first trip to the Francisco de Icasa Bustamante Children’s Hospital of the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) Nervous or anxious like that in the emergency room. ).
Amy was going to have a baby fraternal twins, that is, they are produced by two different sperm fertilizing two different eggs during the same pregnancy. In this case, there are three babies: two boys and one girl.
Amy lost two children due to premature birth. His daughter spent time in the hospital until she recovered. Later, she returned to the emergency room and her daughter was diagnosed with hydrocephalus.which is an accumulation of fluid in the deep cavities of the brain.
“I took her to the emergency room and thank God, the hospital and the doctors, I got excellent care. They saw the girl with the big head and admitted me right away.” She spoke with a neurosurgeon and other doctors coordination,” the 23-year-old said, adding that her daughter He underwent four surgeries.
‘We had a patient and they wanted to shoot him in the head. (The bullet) entered one lung and came out the other’: Ecuador sees 2.8 million hospital emergencies in first half of 2023
Native Amy said the intervention, which involves placing a valve in others, was painful as surgical sutures were opened. He traveled from the state of Daul to Guayaquil to continue his treatment.
Fortunately, her little girl no longer has hydrocephalus, but she is underweight, for which she needs to feed her prescription milk. He is also following an antibiotic regimen.
Amy will never forget her journey and experiences. “I prayed to God (on the bus) that everything would be fine before I got here. (Go to the hospital) They can treat me. There will be times when you feel weak and have no strength, but there are very good doctors who will give you words of encouragement. At least I’m here alone. No family came, not even to take my place. “I’m here alone day and night,” Amy said. The health home has been his second home since last April.
In the first six months of 2023, 132,241 boys and girls under one year old People who have been to an emergency room at a hospital in the MSP network. Among them, 69,998 are boys and 62,243 are girls.
There were 356,389 emergency room visits for minors ages 1 to 4; 270,753 for those ages 5 to 9; and 195,416 for those ages 10 to 14. There are a total of 954,799 minors aged 0 to 14 years old, or nearly 1 million minors in a state of emergency.
Nationwide, the Francisco de Ycaza Bustamante Pediatric Tertiary Hospital is the hospital with the largest number of children with emergencies, 37,715 of whom are 0 to 14 years old, according to MSP data. Guayaquil also has the Bastión Popular Maternal and Child Hospital, which has the largest number of admissions: 16,709 patients.
This is followed by the Cisne 2 health center in the suburbs, which has 16,154 minors. In Babajoyo, Martin Ikasa General Hospital admitted more patients, reaching 15,681. The health center of Conocoto in Pichincha has a population of 14,034.
These are the hospitals in Guayaquil that receive the most emergency patients
Roberto Tomalá, Director of Nursing, Francisco de Ycaza Bustamante Hospitalindicating that it is not just critically ill patients who come to the emergency area, But those who need outpatient treatment Through the Manchester triage system (classification and prioritization of patients). “We have patients with trauma, gunshot wounds, who are also indirect victims.Patients with traumatic brain injuries, epileptic seizures and burns patients will arrive in December. ” Tomara said, adding that they also receive children with respiratory problems, gastroenteritis and other illnesses.
The latter are some of the main reasons children find themselves in emergency situations. 181,087 patients with acute nasopharyngitis; 164,725 patients with acute tonsillitis; 101,535 patients with gastroenteritis and infectious and unexplained colitis; 72,892 for hydropharyngitis. In addition, 18 cases were registered as weapons incidents in the age group of 0 to 14 years.
“These are the times when certain viral illnesses start to emerge, are also a problem during the school year, and can increase the incidence of outpatient care in emergency services,” Tomara explained.
This is consistent with Daniel Espinel, Professor, UISEK School of Health Scienceswho pointed out Minors have been downgraded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which leaves them more vulnerable to exposure to the virus. “Your immune system has no immune memory of these types of pathogens. So, because there is no immune memory, the immune response they mount is just like the immune response it would have been on first exposure. As a first-time exhibitor, Their fevers are more severe, their symptoms are more severe, and their immune responses are usually a little stronger than usual” Espinel argued.
“When I have a tooth pulled, I can’t eat a banana because it’s unknown.” Are there really unhealthy foods?
that’s why Luis Ramos, pediatric emergency physician and attending physician, Solcasaid a large number of children were hospitalized with respiratory illnesses in emergency rooms. “The situation is even worse if we add to this a lack of personal hygiene, which leads to higher infection rates in these patients,” he insisted.
He advises that if a boy or girl develops a fever, changes in lifestyle habits such as stopping eating, vomiting, diarrhea and not urinating, he or she must be taken to the emergency room.However, Espinel suggested that these and more symptoms can be avoided, calling for Use a mask, drink alcohol and avoid crowds.
Figures from MSP show those aged 20 to 39 are the age group that visited the most emergency departments, with 933,012 patients. and for the reasons stated above. “They are the ones who go out to work and expose other people When the mask has been completely discarded. He has stopped practicing and no one wants to wear a mask. There is also a certain lack of hand hygiene, which obviously increases exposure and the risk of simple infections like the common cold,” Espinel said.
Experts recommend a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, vitamins, nuts and meat three times a day. “Let us choose Don’t give them junk food” said Espinel. Tomala called on parents to be careful not to neglect their children: “Diarrhea occurs when contaminated food is eaten with dirty hands.“. (Yo)