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.
Electroencephalography (EEG) records the electrical activity in the brain. During an EEG various electrodes are placed on the patient's skin to record brain activity.
An EEG can be performed under different conditions: With the patient asleep or even subjected to stimulus such as a flashing light, or after breathing deeply to introduce metabolic changes that reveal an area of the brain with unusual brain activity.
There are different types of EEG waveforms according to their frequency and bandwidth. In a healthy person, a normal EEG will produce alpha waveforms with a frequency of 8 to 12 Hz, and a voltage of 50 microvolts. In the same way, beta and delta waveforms may be detected corresponding to different pathologies. Neurological conditions that may benefit from an EEG are: epilepsy, brain tumours, brain abscesses, brain injuries, and cerebrovascular diseases such as heart attacks or haemorrhaging. EEGs can also be used during neurosurgery to detect and distinguish healthy and diseased brain tissue.
Sensors (electrodes) are placed on different parts of the head. This usually takes a few minutes and, as it is non-invasive, can be repeated as often as necessary.
An EEG is a routine test that poses no risks and can be repeated several times during a neurological illness.
Brain imaging tests are also useful and may allow more accurate diagnosis and treatment when combined with an EEG.
Spinal taps are used to extract samples from the cerebrospinal fluid, which is a substance that surrounds the brain and spinal column and protects them from possible injuries. This contact means that when there is a process that affects these body parts, the liquid is altered and we can detect it by analysing it.
Using cerebrospinal fluid, we can measure pressure and take samples to perform different tests.
Thanks to these tests, several diseases can be diagnosed, such as neurological disorders and infections that affect the brain or bone marrow.
Spinal taps, or lumbar punctures, involve taking a sample of cerebrospinal fluid through the puncture with a needle in the lumbar area.
It is usually done with patients in the foetal position: lying on their sides with legs flexed so the knees touch the chest. Sometimes, the puncture is done with the person sitting and leaning forward.
Once the patient is in place, the area where the puncture is to be done is cleansed and disinfected. After administering anaesthesia, the puncture is performed between the two lumbar vertebrae with a spinal needle.
After this, we measure the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid and take the sample, which will be from 1 to 10 ml.
The needle is then removed, the puncture zone cleaned and a bandage placed over the puncture area. Sometimes patients need to lie down for a while.
Spinal taps are the least aggressive way to get a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. Study of this liquid is essential to detect certain diseases that affect the brain and the spinal cord.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative illness.
Nowadays, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in older people. The families of people with this illness often have to adapt to the new situation. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, here are some tips:
This illness manifests itself in cognitive deterioration and behavioural disorders, resulting in a high degree of dependency. In the majority of cases, the family looks after the person and within the family, in 76% of cases, a woman is the main carer. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, bear in mind these tips:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) causes muscular degeneration that can affect motor autonomy, oral communication, swallowing and breathing, but the senses, intellect and eyes muscles remain intact. It can therefore affect the respiratory muscles, which is why respiratory care is essential for patients’ quality of life.
In order to improve the respiratory difficulties in patients, ventilation therapy can be used through non-invasive ventilation.
Ventilation therapy refers to breathing support using a ventilator, usually at night during sleep, to achieve:
Ventilation is carried out non-invasively, by means of a patient-adjusted mask (nasal or full face) connected by a tube to the ventilator or respirator.
When patients need this therapy, the place and time it is started, whether outpatient or hospital admission, is planned in a personalised way with the consent of the patient and the person caring for them.
Education for the patient and their main carer should begin as soon as possible, both from the point of view of managing secretions and the resulting care, as well as the emotional support they need to receive. This means that during the patient’s admission or outpatient visit, the patient and their carer will be trained in:
The patient and the carer must take care to keep the airway in good condition to allow secretions to be managed. It is important to preserve the ability to cough where possible, but if coughing is no longer effective, the patient and carer will need to start learning how to use mechanical aids (cough assist or mechanically assisted cough). In certain cases secretion suction may also be used.
To improve the quality of life of patients it is important to follow the advice below:
Patients with Asperger’s syndrome need a stable and predictable environment that can be easily adapted. It is key to their well-being to establish routines according to their interests, organise their time, avoid inactivity or over intense activity as well as sudden changes. Although the syndrome has no cure, appropriate treatment and involving family members can improve the quality of life of patients.
People with Asperger’s syndrome may have different requirements depending on their age, surroundings and the awareness that they have of their difficulties. For this reason, they need a tailor-made programme that responds to their specific case.
The aim of these customised programmes is to:
It is important to manage their development through different disciplines. These may include cognitive treatments, social skills programmes and occupational therapy for the patient. You also have to consider guidelines on how to resolve conflicts and how to manage pyschoeducational groups for families or caregivers.
In infants, from an emotional and attitudinal point of view, it is important to learn to identify the warning signs in their mood. In this way, we can prevent difficulties in anger management and low tolerance to frustration, since they are patients with a high degree of sensitivity to criticism. Avoid punishment as much as possible and establish more positive reinforcement strategies.
All these guidelines must be established in a space where the differences the child or adolescent presents are valued positively, including their limitations, but also their possibilities and positive aspects.
In adults, many of these characteristics continue, as Asperger’s cannot be cured. In any case, personalised treatment, involving family members and good communication with professionals can allow a better quality of life.
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