Dados do Trabalho

Título

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED WITH MENINGITIS IN PARA STATE, BRAZIL: AN ANALYSIS FROM 2012 TO 2022

Introdução

Meningitis is a disease that can cause neural involvement due to inflammation of the meninges and infection of the central nervous system. The infection can affect the nerves, nerve cells, and brain structures, leading to a range of neurological symptoms. The age group in which meningitis is most common in children is in the early years of life, especially in infants under 1 year of age.

Objetivo

The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological profile of pediatric patients hospitalized with meningitis between the years 2012 to 2022.

Método

This is an epidemiological, retrospective, quantitative study, in which data were obtained from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS). The analysis comprised the number of cases reported in Pará from 2012 to 2022. The main variables analyzed were: sex, skin color, age (0-19), health region, hospitalization regimen, and type of clinical outcome. For data analysis, descriptive statistics was used through absolute and relative frequencies.

Resultados e Conclusões

In the time cut from 2012 to 2022, in the state of Pará, there were 1174 hospitalizations for meningitis in pediatric patients, with an increase from 49 in 2012 to 224 in 2022. The health region (CIR) with the highest density of occurrences was Metropolitan I (56.9%). The patients were mostly male (57%), mixed race (67.5%), under 1 year old (22.2%) and admitted to the public hospital network (19.3%, however, 79.5% were considered "unaware"). Regarding the type of outcome, 17.2% evolved to death.
This analysis allowed the identification of the epidemiological profile of pediatric patients hospitalized with meningitis in the period from 2012 to 2022 in Pará. We observed a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations in the analyzed period. In addition, the percentage of deaths is significant, requiring more public policies aimed at prevention, such as immunization.

Palavras Chave

Meningitis; Epidemiology; Health Policy.

Declaração de conflito de interesses de TODOS os autores

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.