We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Below we will list the departments and units that form part of Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the main diseases that we treat. We will also make recommendations based on advice backed up by scientific evidence that has been shown to be effective in guaranteeing well-being and quality of life.
We will guide you from your first visit to the centre, allowing you to find all the departments and make the most of our facilities. Whatever the reason for your visit, we will explain how to get about the hospital.
Flu is an infectious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus, of which there are three types (A, B and C) and various sub-types. It is an illness that can present in a wide range of clinical forms: from asymptomatic infections to respiratory pictures that may undergo complications. The flu viruses circulate during the winter months in Spain, producing seasonal epidemics. The flu viruses that circulate each season do not have the same pathogenicity and different people's susceptibility to the viruses is not the same. The intensity of flu epidemics therefore changes year on year, both in terms of the number of people affected and with regard to the clinical picture of the infections. Anti-flu vaccination is the most effective primary prevention measure to prevent flu and its complications.
Flu is transmitted from an ill person to another person through droplets expelled when coughing and sneezing. The transmission period starts from the day before symptoms appear and persists for five days afterwards.
It is estimated that seasonal flu may affect between 5% and 20% of the general population, and that approximately 25% of febrile respiratory processes may be produced by the flu. This increased morbidity gives rise to a large number of medical consultations and absences from work as a consequence of the disease. Moreover, some people, such as older people, those with chronic illnesses, immuno-suppressed people and pregnant women, among others, may suffer more from the illness and it is common for them to experience complications during its evolution. Flu thus continues to be a major public health issue.
Flu presents heightened fever, dry cough, headache and neck ache, muscle pain and general illness. It can also cause diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, especially in young children. In most cases, people recover in 7-10 days.
Flu may affect anyone, but the most vulnerable to suffering complications are children under the age of 2, people aged 60 or above, pregnant women, morbidly obese people and people of any age who suffer from one of the following types of illness: cardiovascular, pulmonary (including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis and asthma), neurological, neuromuscular, metabolic (including diabetes mellitus), kidney failure, immunosuppression, cancer, chronic liver diseases, asplenia and iron deficiencies.
Flu diagnosis is normally clinical and does not require laboratory tests. Despite that fact, microbiological diagnosis is fundamental to be able to obtain aetiological confirmation in patients with risk factors and those with serious illnesses. The detection of the virus in respiratory samples can be done using cultures, antigen detection techniques and molecular methods.
There is no specific treatment for flu. Treatment with analgesics and antipyretics (paracetamol) is recommended to alleviate or treat some of the symptoms associated with flu, such as fever or headache.
Antibiotics do not cure the flu. Only in cases where there is an overlying bacterial infection, such as pneumonia, or in those with chronic illnesses, may preventive antibiotic treatment be indicated to avoid complications.
Antivirals, such as oseltamivir or zanamivir, may be indicated in people at high risk of complications to reduce the duration of the flu and the possibility of complications, but they should begin to be taken within 48 hours from the outbreak of symptoms.
The best way of protecting yourself from the flu is vaccination and following good hygiene practices to prevent the spread of the virus. The purpose of anti-flu vaccination each year is to generate protection against the flu viruses that circulate in the flu season. Health authorities and scientific associations around the world unanimously recommend seasonal anti-flu vaccination for people at high risk. Anti-flu vaccinations are very safe and well-tolerated with effectiveness that ranges from 30% to 70% to prevent hospitalisation due to flu and pneumonia. In older people living in institutions, vaccinations have proven to be between 50% and 60% effective to prevent hospitalisation or pneumonia, and 80% to prevent death by flu.
Dr. Tomas Pumarola, Dr. Andrés Antón, Dr. Magda Campins, Dr. Xavier Martínez, Dr. Benito Almirante, Dr. Assumpta Ricart, Dr. Carlos Rodrigo, Dr. Sebastián González.
Strokes and Cerebral Haemodynamics
Paediatric Cardiology
Neonatal and Foetal Surgery
Abdominal wall surgery
Endocrinology and Nutrition
Sleep Unit
Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat)
Microbiology
Neurology
Digestive System
Coronary care unit
Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgery
Prematurity Prevention Unit
Allergology
Paediatric Intensive Care
Plastic Surgery and Burns
Paediatric Cardiac Surgery
Paediatric Endocrinology
Nutritional Support
Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiencies Unit
Nephrology
Paediatric Neurology
Clinical and molecular genetics
Paediatric Hospitalisation and Hospital Paediatrics Unit
Paediatric Oncological Surgery Unit
Foetal Medicine and Surgery Unit
Pathological anatomy
Cardiac Surgery
Thoracic Surgery and Lung Transplants
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Gynaecology
Dialysis
Radiation Oncology
Paediatric Nephrology
Ophthalmology
Dermatology
Paediatric emergency care
Hereditary Angioedema Unit
Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine
Neonatology
Cardiology
Pharmacy
Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
Diagnostic and Interventional Haemodynamics
Heart failure
Pneumology
Neurosurgery
Paediatric Ophthalmology
Pneumology, allergology and cystic fibrosis
Aortic pathology and Marfan syndrome
Obstetrics Ultrasound Unit
Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit
Anaesthesia, Resuscitation and Pain Management
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Physics and Radiation Protection
Paediatric Digestive Surgery and Transplants
Hepatology
Psychiatry
Foetal Medicine
Clinical Neurophysiology
Paediatric Oncology and Haematology
Radiodiagnosis (IDI)
Paediatric Surgery
Prenatal Diagnosis Unit
Social Obstetrics Unit
Angiology, Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Surgery
General and Digestive Surgery
Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Nutritional Support and Paediatric Hepatic Transplants
Endocrine, Metabolic, and Bariatric Surgery
Paediatric Urology
Clinical Laboratories
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Medical Oncology
Paediatrics
Clinical Pharmacology
Corneal and Ocular Surface Section
Diabetes and Pregnancy Unit
Perinatal Mental Health Unit
Arrhythmia Unit
Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Transplants
Gynaecological Oncology and Pathology of the Lower Genital Tract
Gynaecological Endoscopic Surgery
Urology
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Tobacco cessation (quitting smoking)
General Emergencies
Immunology
Glaucoma
Gynaecological Endocrinology
Transplant Coordination
Biochemistry
Paediatric Maxillofacial Surgery
Haematology and Haemotherapy
Oesophagogastric Surgery
Obstetric and Gynaecological Emergency Care
Breast Pathology
Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology
Congenital Heart Disease in Adolescents and Adults
Intensive care medicine
Echocardiogram and cardiac imaging unit
Uveitis and Eye Inflammation
Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology
Inherited Heart Disease
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