Alonso Gilberto, Escudero J M
Servicio de Urgencias, Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat 08901, Spain.
An Sist Sanit Navar. 2010;33 Suppl 1:97-106.
The emergency short stay unit (ESSU) is a support unit for the accident and emergency services and a clear alternative to the conventional hospitalisation of patients needing urgent care, who are affected by the re-aggravation of certain chronic diseases (whether seasonal o not) or by moderate short-evolution pathologies. Hospitalisation at home is one alternative making it possible to undertake the care and treatment characteristic of a hospital in the home of the patient, with greater comfort and intimacy. The origin of the patient might be the conventional hospital, the emergency service or ESSU. A suitable selection of patients is essential in both alternatives to conventional hospitalisation, using strict criteria that are both clinical and socio-family in nature. Their correct use assures a significant saving in stays in conventional hospital units, a reduction of the average stay in hospital medical and surgical services and less pressure on the accident and emergency service, since they increase the availability of beds both for programmed admission and for urgent admission in conventional hospitalisation and thus improve patient outflow in the accident and emergency service.
急诊短期留观病房（ESSU）是为急诊服务提供支持的病房，对于那些因某些慢性病（无论是否季节性发作）病情加重或患有中度短期进展性病症而需要紧急护理的患者来说，它是传统住院治疗的一个明确替代方案。居家住院是一种替代方案，它能让患者在自己家中接受具有医院特色的护理和治疗，舒适度和私密性更高。患者的来源可能是传统医院、急诊服务部门或急诊短期留观病房。在这两种替代传统住院治疗的方案中，使用严格的临床和社会家庭标准对患者进行恰当挑选至关重要。正确运用这些标准可确保传统医院病房的住院时间大幅缩短，减少医院内科和外科服务的平均住院时间，并减轻急诊服务的压力，因为它们增加了传统住院治疗中计划内入院和紧急入院的床位可用性，从而改善了急诊服务中的患者流出情况。
