Jimenez Garcia Juan Gabriel, Santos Rivera Juan Ramon, Izquierdo-Pretel Guillermo
Internal Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, USA.
Internal Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PRI.
Cureus. 2024 Nov 20;16(11):e74094. doi: 10.7759/cureus.74094. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Numerous individuals experiencing homelessness have a pet. When a homeless person is hospitalized for an emergency medical need, discharge planners are sometimes faced with tough options and a lack of resources for safe discharges from the hospital. We detail the case of a 64-year-old female patient who was admitted due to a witnessed syncopal event. The patient was admitted with her companion dog, which remained at the bedside through her hospitalization. The workup for her syncopal event was negative (CT brain, carotid US, ECG, troponins, orthostatic). Her discharge process was complicated by her need for a shelter placement that would accommodate her and her pet dog. The patient was discharged without finding a shelter that could accept her dog, which prevented her from receiving home health physical therapy. This case illustrates how pet ownership can create additional barriers to the transition of care for homeless individuals, limiting access to necessary follow-up services and impacting overall recovery outcomes. Thus, we would like to highlight this barrier that exists in this vulnerable population.
许多无家可归的人都养了宠物。当无家可归者因紧急医疗需求住院时，出院计划者有时会面临艰难的选择，且缺乏让患者安全出院的资源。我们详细介绍了一名64岁女性患者的病例，她因目睹的晕厥事件入院。患者入院时带着她的伴侣犬，在她住院期间，这只狗一直待在床边。对她晕厥事件的检查结果为阴性（脑部CT、颈动脉超声、心电图、肌钙蛋白、直立试验）。她的出院过程因需要安置一个能接纳她和她宠物狗的收容所而变得复杂。患者出院时没有找到能接纳她的狗的收容所，这使得她无法接受家庭健康物理治疗。这个案例说明了养宠物如何会给无家可归者的护理过渡带来额外障碍，限制他们获得必要的后续服务，并影响总体康复结果。因此，我们想强调这一弱势群体中存在的这一障碍。
