Características de los días de descanso otorgados a pacientes atendidos en una Red Asistencial de Salud de Perú

Introduction: Medical rest is a legal figure granted to rest in the presence of an incapacitating injury, without depriving the worker of receiving the incomes from work. Objective: To characterize the days of medical rest according to the type of diagnosis in patients treated at the social security in Trujillo, Peru. Material and Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study involving secondary data, and using the basis of medical breaks (measured in days) due to temporary incapacity from 2009 to 2015 in a social security hospital in northern Peru. Characterization was obtained according to the type of pathology, and analytical statistics was performed using linear regression. Results: Of the 145 077 rest days granted, false labor was the most frequent condition. However, common accidents such as external malleolus fracture, radius fracture, and intervertebral disc disorder had more days of rest, being above average for other disabilities. On the other hand, those that generated fewer days of rest were diarrhea, pharyngitis and dehydration, being below average for other pathologies. In terms of sex, in general, men were granted more medical rest. All this was statistically significant. Conclusions: There are marked differences in the allocation of days of rest according to the characteristics of the persons to whom they were given; this should be evaluated in further studies to find standard values.