[Experience of a Rapid Diagnostic and Short Stay Unit implemented in Argentina].

Introduction: Rapid diagnostic units (RDUs) represent an alternative to conventional hospitalization diagnosis, enabling outpatient care for patients with suspected potentially severe disease. The first year of operation of a Rapid Diagnostic and Short Stay Unit (RDSSU) is described.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study involving 696 patients, documenting 739 events defined as each patient's entry into the RDU for specific reasons.

Results: Of the 739 events, 37.9% (n=280) were evaluated for suspected potentially serious disease, 37.1% (n=274) were scheduled low-complexity surgical events, 8.7% (n=64) were a rapid pre-evaluation -surgical due to diagnosis of serious disease, 9.7% (n=72) control after discharge from the general ward and 6.6% (n=49) were events linked to day hospital. Of the 280 events evaluated for suspected serious disease, the median number of days until the first consultation was 1 day (interquartile range 0-2) and until diagnosis was 0 days (interquartile range 0-6). The most frequent diagnostic groups were oncological disease (25%), infectious diseases (15%) and digestive diseases (11%). A 13% required hospitalization in a general ward before reaching the diagnosis. Of the scheduled surgical events, only 2.9% required hospitalization in the general ward due to complications.

Discussion: The unit successfully conducted initial evaluations and reached diagnosis within a short timeframe, avoiding emergency room visits and general ward admissions, thereby increasing bed availability.