Díaz, F.Kehr, J.Cores, C.Rubilar, P.Medina, T.Vargas, C.Cruces, P.2022-06-062022-06-062021-12Journal of Critical Care, Volume 68, Pages 59 - 65, April 20220883-9441https://repositorio.unab.cl/xmlui/handle/ria/22721Indexación: Scopus.We aim to describe the action plan and clinical results of a COVID-19 unit for adult patient care in units intended for critically ill children, proposing a clinical/administrative framework. Methods: We reviewed the preparedness of the PICU team before the surge of cases of COVID-19 and the organizational/administrative issues to increase critical beds in a six-bed PICU allocated to adult critical care in a government-funded general hospital in Latin America. We analyzed the prospectively collected administrative/clinical data of severe COVID-19 cases admitted to PICU during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. Results: We describe a 6-step preparedness plan: recruitment and education, admission criteria, children diversion, team hierarchy, and general and respiratory equipment. The 6-bed PICU was allocated to adult care for 20 weeks, progressively increasing capacity to a 23-bed dedicated COVID-19 unit managed by the PICU team. A six-block bed organizational units were implemented, and personnel increased from 40 to 125 healthcare workers in 24 h shifts. COVID-19 incidence in personnel was 0.5/1000 workdays. One hundred thirty-six patients were admitted, median age 59 (51,65) years old, 68% were male, and 63% had P/F ≤ 100. In addition, 48% received mechanical ventilation, the median length of stay was 7 (3,17), and in-hospital mortality was 15%. Conclusions: We propose an organizational framework for the role of PICU in the hospital action plan to increase adult critical beds. The cohort of patients admitted to a PICU repurposed as a COVID-19 ICU had good outcomes. These data are valuable to plan coordinated actions of the healthcare system for future scenarios.enARDSCOVID-19Disaster responsePICUCritical CareIntensive Care UnitsPandemicsArtículo10.1016/j.jcrc.2021.12.004