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.
Patients are the centre and the core of our system. We are professionals committed to quality care and our organizational structure breaks down the traditional boundaries between departments and professional groups, with an exclusive model of knowledge areas.
Would you like to know what your stay at Vall d'Hebron will be like? Here you will find all the information.
The commitment of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to innovation allows us to be at the forefront of medicine, providing first class care adapted to the changing needs of each patient.
Currently, Zika virus mainly affects some countries in Latin America. In order to avoid the risk of being infected, therefore, we advise travellers not to visit those countries during pregnancy. As there is still no vaccine to prevent the virus, prevention measures are fundamental to avoiding infection.
The advice to prevent infection with Zika virus is particularly aimed at pregnant women or those thinking of becoming pregnant in the short to medium term. The possibility of transmitting the infection to the foetus means that pregnant women are the most vulnerable group. For this reason, you are advised to:
Another way of preventing mosquito bites is to avoid proliferation of mosquitoes, which you can do by finding out and periodically checking the areas where these insects reproduce. Once breeding points are located, the measures should focus, as appropriate, on:
Most Ebola cases take place in Africa, especially in countries such as the Republic of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where there was a significant outbreak in 2014 and 2015. Although the risk of infection in Spain is low, we do not advise travelling to the affected countries.
Although there is currently no commercially available vaccine against the virus, the results of studies conducted so far show that the vaccine could be very effective. In Spain the risk of infection is very low, but:
If you find yourself in an area affected by Ebola virus:
If you travel to one of the affected areas and a few weeks after your return you notice the following symptoms, you need to seek medical attention urgently and tell the doctor about the trip:
The best way of protecting yourself and preventing flu from spreading is vaccination and following good hygiene practices. This helps to reduce transmission of the virus and is the most effective measure to protect yourself and those around you.
Flu is transmitted easily in three different ways:
There are a series of hygiene measures that help to prevent flu:
A urinary tract infection is defined as the presence of invasive bacteria in the urinary system, together with signs of inflammation, such as high temperature and local pain.
Urinary tract infections may be located in the lower urinary tract (bladder and urethra), or the upper urinary system, affecting one or both kidneys. A kidney infection is also known as pyelonephritis.
Infections of the lower urinary tract are characterised by localised pain, which increases when urinating, and sometimes by cloudy or dark urine, usually without high temperatures.
Kidney infections (pyelonephritis) are characterised by high temperatures, acute local pain in the lower back, and pain or irritation when urinating.
Urinary tract infection is characterised by the presence of local pain (lower abdomen or lumbar region), which increases when urinating. The urine is often cloudy, or dark if it contains blood. There may be high fever, especially in the case of pyelonephritis (an infection of the upper urinary tract).
It can affect people at any age, from early childhood to old age. It is more frequent among women and there are factors that make people vulnerable to it (pregnancy for women and enlarged prostate for men) as well as urological anomalies (pre-existing malformation or presence of kidney stones).
Urinary infections are diagnosed by examining urine under the microscope (sediment) to see whether it contains white blood cells and/or bacteria, and by cultivating the bacteria in a microbiological culture to identify the strain and determine the most appropriate antibiotic for treatment (antibiotic susceptibility testing).
Urinary tract infections are usually treated with antibiotics. Treatment is oral in the case of lower-tract infection.
For upper-tract infections (pyelonephritis) it is usually intravenous, although in some cases outpatient oral treatment may be administered.
The standard tests are urine sediment and culture (urine culture with antibiotic susceptibility testing). An ultrasound scan may be indicated for examining the kidney and urinary tract and identifying obstructions or kidney stones that may have brought about the infection.
Ultrasounds are also used to assess the state of the kidneys. A general analysis may also be indicated to see how the urinary tract infection is affecting the rest of the body, and specifically the renal function.
Urinary tract infection can be prevented by frequent urination (every 2 to 3 hours) and, above all, by avoiding the habit of holding in urine, and by going to the toilet whenever the bladder feels full, without waiting too long.
Infectious disease caused by the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which mainly affects the respiratory system and requires prolonged and uninterrupted treatment to cure. If treatment is interrupted, it can become resistant to drugs, which makes it harder to cure.
The reservoir of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is humans and it is usually an airborne disease. Transmission is caused by living in close proximity to someone with pulmonary tuberculosis. It is important to be aware that we are talking about a disease that can be treated, cured and eradicated, which means that it could disappear from the human population.
At the moment, however, it is the primary cause of death from infectious disease on the planet. Factors such as resistance to first-line drugs or coinfection make it difficult to treat the disease and increase its mortality rate.
The symptoms of tuberculosis depend on the organ that is infected. In the case of pulmonary tuberculosis, the most common symptoms are chesty cough, fever, weight loss and sweating at night. A diagnosis of tuberculosis should be considered when these symptoms last for more than 3-4 weeks.
It can affect anyone who has been in contact with infected patients.
Tuberculosis is diagnosed according to the patient’s symptomatology, the findings of a physical examination and the results of complementary testing. Microbiological tests constitute an essential pillar for diagnosis. Some tests include micobacteria cultures, microscopic techniques and evidence of molecular biology.
Patients have a confirmed diagnosis when the microbiological tests are positive. If they are not positive, they are said to have a probable diagnosis.
Conducted by means of several drugs to avoid resistance. The length of treatment is prolonged (minimum six months) because many drugs acts on the dividing bacteria and this microorganism is slow growing. Where possible, all tablets are administered in one single sitting per day to make following the treatment plan easier.
Chest x-rays, general tests, cultures of biological samples.
There are no specific prevention measures to avoid infection.
The concept of resistant osteoarticular infections encompasses all procedures on patients with infections that have not responded to previous medical and surgical treatment. These procedures may be changing prostheses or treatment for chronic osteomyelitis or septic pseudoarthrosis among others. The Musculoskeletal System Septic Pathology Unit also treats many of these patients from the start due to the complexity of their condition.
The different types of resistant osteoarticular infections treated in the unit are:
Osteomyelitis/osteitis of haematogenous origin and which are resistant to medical and surgical treatment:
Chronic osteomyelitis or septic pseudoarthrosis derived from trauma or surgical interventions. Those resulting from open fractures, typically in the tibia, are often accompanied by loss of bone or the cutaneous covering. Exact incidence rates are not known, but the more exposed the bone has been, the higher the chances of chronic infection.
Periprosthetic infections. This type of infection occurs in 1-3% of primary arthroplasty procedures. In some cases, the only obvious symptom may be pain. The presence of a fistula or the isolation of a pathogen microorganism in different samples is used to confirm diagnosis. The most common treatment is to change the prosthesis in two separate procedures.
Severe treatment-resistant diseases of the soft tissue (necrotizing fasciitis, gangrene). These are extremely unusual lesions and when do they appear they are often fatal. Excessive localized pain may be the only initial symptom, making it very difficult to diagnose at this stage. When diagnosed, aggressive treatment with antibiotics and surgical debridement can have an impact on survival and the need for amputation.
Patient-related factors (control of additional diseases or disorders) are very important in the prevention of osteoarticular infection, as are those related to surgery (antibiotic prophylaxis), the presence of implants, and tissue condition (bone and cutaneous covering) amongst others.
This type of infection requires a multidisciplinary team as treatment is very complex.
The disease caused by the Zika virus is contracted by a bite from an infected mosquito, as in the case of dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever. It can also be spread through sexual intercourse, pregnant women may transmit it to their children, or through blood transfusions. In Europe there are no cases of infection by mosquito; all cases have been imported.
It is disease lasting a short time that can be overcome without complications or the need for admission to hospital. However, there is a relationship between this infection and some neurological disorders. In addition, pregnant women who are infected may give birth to babies with microcephaly.
The incubation period in humans is 3-12 days, up to 15 maximum. Although on many occasions there are no symptoms, when there are the disease is characterised by:
Since 2015, 71 countries have declared transmission of the Zika virus via mosquitoes. In addition, 13 more have stated that the disease has arrived by other means, generally through sexual contact.
In Europe, most cases have been imported from countries where it is endemic, mainly from Latin America but also from South East Asia. In Catalonia in December 2016, there were 150 registered infections, of which 32 were pregnant women.
Between the first seven to ten days of the disease, diagnosis is made using molecular biology techniques (RT-PCR) in blood and urine to detect the virus.
After this period, Zika disappears from the blood and is detected through antibodies in the serum.
There is no specific treatment for this disease. Symptoms generally disappear between three and seven days after infection. They are therefore lessened with analgesics and antipyretics.
There is currently no vaccine for this virus. For this reason, prevention is based on avoiding mosquito bites in countries where it is endemic, as well as using protection during sexual intercourse.
In the case of Catalonia, the risk is associated with the arrival of travellers from countries where it is endemic. Here there is a screening programme for pregnant women and their partners; they are a sensitive group as the virus may be passed to the foetus.
The acceptance of these terms implies that you give your consent to the processing of your personal data for the provision of the services you request through this portal and, if applicable, to carry out the necessary procedures with the administrations or public entities involved in the processing. You may exercise the mentioned rights by writing to web@vallhebron.cat, clearly indicating in the subject line “Exercise of LOPD rights”. Responsible entity: Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Catalan Institute of Health). Purpose: Subscription to the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus newsletter, where you will receive news, activities, and relevant information. Legal basis: Consent of the data subject. Data sharing: If applicable, with VHIR. No other data transfers are foreseen. No international transfer of personal data is foreseen. Rights: Access, rectification, deletion, and data portability, as well as restriction and objection to its processing. The user may revoke their consent at any time. Source: The data subject. Additional information: Additional information can be found at https://hospital.vallhebron.com/es/politica-de-proteccion-de-datos.