57% of first semester transplants were done during the pandemic

Pequeno Príncipe Hospital continues to treat a large number of highly complex cases, in different specialties

Even with the relatively smaller number of visits during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), caused by the temporary suspension of elective procedures (those that are not urgent), Pequeno Príncipe Hospital continues to welcome a large number of highly complex cases, in the different specialties it offers. Considering the first half of 2020, the Hospital performed about 95 transplants and, of these, 55 procedures – or 57% of the total – were performed between the months of March and June (check table below), a period in which the pandemic intensified in Brazil. There were 20 transplants of bone tissue, 15 transplants of bone marrow, 13 transplants of heart valve, five kidney transplants, one liver transplant and one heart transplant.

Tainara Vidal, 15, is one of the patients who benefited from a transplant, performed at the beginning of August. Patient of Pequeno Príncipe since her first month of life, the teenager engaged the waiting list for a heart on August 7. And just one day later she was contemplated with a new heart. “I am very grateful that everything happened so fast. My biggest fear was that Tainara would reach 18 years old and we would have to change hospitals to do the transplant, because all my confidence is here,” says her mother, Itamara Vidal dos Santos. “My daughter will be 16 on the 24^th and this was the best gift she could ever get. Tainara told me that she did not live, she survived, because all her activities were limited due to her weak heart. Her life is starting again now,” says the mother, touched.

The technical director of Pequeno Príncipe, Donizetti Dimer Giamberardino Filho, reinforces that the institution is managing to maintain its goals of serving children and adolescents in their different needs. “The beds dedicated exclusively to COVID-19 have been meeting the contingency of needs requested by the state of Paraná. The other beds focused their energy on urgent and emergency patients, in addition to highly complex diseases. With that, we assure patients their right to health treatments, avoiding the worsening of their illnesses by maintaining continuity of care,” he emphasizes.

With regard to surgeries, there were more than 4,100 in this period and about 13% related to high complexity, such as surgeries for tumor removal, neurological surgeries, corrections of cardiac malformations, pacemaker implants, corrections of major spinal deviations, ear reconstructions and cochlear implants, among several other procedures.

Coping with COVID-19
For the care of patients suspected or confirmed with COVID-19, the Hospital allocated an ICU with ten beds, in addition to 24 apartments, which can receive up to two patients each, totaling 48 beds.

Since the arrival of the first case in Pequeno Príncipe, in March, until August 14, the Hospital has already treated 460 patients with suspected COVID-19 and 70 cases have been confirmed. Of the discarded cases of the disease, the institution identified and treated other common viruses for this time of the year, such as influenza A (H1N1), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), coronavirus NL63, rhinovirus, adenovirus, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza 1 and cases of combined infections between these pathological agents.

Among the Pequeno Príncipe staff, about 170 employees were contaminated and recovered or are recovering. “Despite the non-intense demand for pediatric hospitalization for patients with COVID-19, our collaborators were affected by the community transmission of the pandemic. Thus, we had absences of up to 100 employees at the same time,” explains Donizetti. Another 100 employees were removed for belonging to risk groups.

Support
Continuing to assist children and adolescents in need of healthcare in the various specialties and also those impacted by COVID-19 required a large amount of investment from the Hospital in personal protective equipment (PPE), supplies, materials and specific medicines that suffered a large increase in their prices due to high demand. It was also necessary to make new hires, to replace employees on leave. These issues, added to the temporary suspension of elective procedures, should generate an additional financial deficit of around US$ 4 million this year, which will add to the already existing US$ 4 million annually caused by underfunding in the health sector.

More than ever, Pequeno Príncipe needs the support from the community to fill this gap. To find out how to help the institution, please contact us by email: marcelle.silva@hpp.org.br or carolina.fossati@hpp.org.br. Together, we will face and overcome this pandemic.

57% of first semester transplants were done during the pandemic

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