SANCTI SPÍRITUS.-With the opening of the first center in the country for Neonatology specialists and residents to receive training in the use of ultrasound technology at the point of patient care (Pocus), Cuban medicine strengthens this sensitive and vital branch.
Experience shows how important it is to take advantage of possibilities such as those offered by the Doppler ultrasound equipment (the only one available at the Camilo Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital) to, among other uses, perform a much more complete evaluation of children in serious or critical condition, which contributes, in the first place, to saving their lives.
“It also allows us to get a head start, see the newborn from the inside, rationalize the use of very expensive medications, save time and reduce the length of stay,” explains Dr. Amary Yumar Díaz, a second-degree specialist in Neonatology, with a master's degree in Comprehensive Care of the Child and a diploma in Cardiopediatrics.
According to a national project headed by the specialist herself, this experience could be officially incorporated into the standards of the specialty.
In accordance with its purpose (training and qualification), the center plans to hold, in the near future, the first edition of a national diploma course on neonatal Pocus.
The sensitivity and assistance offered by Dr. Cristina Osí, an Argentinean physician and an authority in this field of medicine, is also acknowledged.
For years, the service has maintained a truly luxurious stability, which translates into a survival rate of over 98% in critically ill patients (nationally, 96% is required), a survival rate of 96.5% (more than five points higher), while sepsis rates have been oscillating, for the last decade, between 2% and 3%, which is lower than the recommended 5%.
