Collaboration among Spanish emergency departments to promote research: on the creation of the SIESTA (Spanish Investigators in Emergency Situations TeAm) network and the coordination of the UMC-19 (Unusual Manifestations of COVID-19) macroproject

Miró O, González Del Castillo J

Research is an inalienable part of medicine. The last few decades have seen a steady increase in research relevant to emergency medicine, led by professionals working in hospital emergency departments and related medical services. Most of the work has been done by groups in individual rather than networked centers. However, several Spanish

institutions recognized by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) have developed lines of research that focus exclusively on emergency medicine. In addition, stable research groups — many of them associated with the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) — have been engaged in ongoing studies of processes specific to our field. The

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV- 2) created a need to focus all our efforts on the main challenges facing emergency departments. In response, the SIESTA (Spanish Investigators in Emergency Situations TeAm) network was created. The network’s first challenge has

been to complete the UMC-19 (Unusual Manifestations of COVID-19) macroproject within a single month. This paper describes the steps SIESTA followed and the main goals of this pioneering experience.

González Del Castillo J, Miró O