Introduction: In response to the evolution of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the admission protocol for the temporary COVID-19 hospital in Mexico City has been updated to hospitalize patients preemptively with an oxygen saturation (SpO2) of >90%. Methods: This prospective, observational, single-center study compared the progression and outcomes of patients who were preemptively hospitalized versus those who were hospitalized based on an SpO2 ⩽90%. We recorded patient demographics, clinical characteristics, COVID-19 symptoms, and oxygen requirement at admission. We calculated the risk of disease progression and the benefit of preemptive hospitalization, stratified by CALL Score: age, lymphocyte count, and lactate dehydrogenase (<8 and ⩾8) at admission. Results: Preemptive hospitalization significantly reduced the requirement for oxygen therapy (odds ratio 0.45, 95% confidence interval 0.31–0.66), admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) (0.37, 0.23–0.60), requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (0.40, 0.25–0.64), and mortality (0.22, 0.10–0.50). Stratification by CALL score at admission showed that the benefit of preemptive hospitalization remained significant for patients requiring oxygen therapy (0.51, 0.31–0.83), admission to the ICU (0.48, 0.27–0.86), and IMV (0.51, 0.28–0.92). Mortality risk remained significantly reduced (0.19, 0.07–0.48). Conclusion: Preemptive hospitalization reduced the rate of disease progression and may be beneficial for improving COVID-19 patient outcomes.

Postoperative sore throat is a common complaint amongst patients who have received general anesthesia and airway management. Several risk factors have been associated to the presence of postoperative sore throat as well as interventions aimed at reducing the incidence and intensity of the pain. The intensity of pain varies widely through populations and can be as insignificant as a complaint or negatively associated with the quality of care during a procedure. The length of duration can be from a few hours postoperatively up to a couple of days following the procedure and is also linked to some surgical related factors. To this day there is no consensus on the best way to prevent its appearance but understanding its pathophysiology as well as how our medical interventions can affect the patient’s outcome is a step forward towards decreasing its significance in the postoperative setting.

Se ha observado que el uso de bencidamina en aerosol o de lidocaína alcalinizada instilada dentro del globo del tubo endotraqueal es útil para disminuir la incidencia y la intensidad del dolor laringotraqueal postoperatorio. Hasta el momento no se sabe si el uso aislado o asociado de estos fármacos tiene alguna ventaja para reducirlas. Material y métodos: Se realizó un ensayo clínico controlado aleatorizado triple ciego formando cuatro grupos: control (placebo-placebo), lidocaína-bencidamina, placebo-bencidamina, lidocaína-placebo, a los cuales se les asignaron aleatoriamente 18 pacientes por grupo. Se midió la intensidad del dolor mediante una escala numérica análoga a los 15 min, 1 h, 3 h, 12 h y 24 h en cada uno de los grupos, además de otras variables de interés. Resultados: Se analizaron los datos de 72 pacientes y se detectó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en la intensidad del dolor laringotraqueal en el curso de las primeras 24 horas a favor de uno de los grupos (lidocaínaplacebo p = 0.003). Conclusión: El uso de la lidocaína alcalinizada instilada dentro del globo del tubo endotraqueal es más efectivo para disminuir la incidencia e intensidad de dolor laringotraqueal postoperatorio que el uso de la bencidamina sola o combinada.