Perfil epidemiológico de lactentes hospitalizados por bronquiolite aguda: comparação entre antes e durante a pandemia da COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Acute bronchiolitis (AB) is an inflammatory condition that affects the airways and results in obstruction in the lower respiratory tract, commonly observed in the first 2 years of life. Objectives: To analyze the epidemiological profile, prevalence, mortality and lethality due to acute bronchiolitis (AB) in infants under two years of age in Brazilian macro-regions, in the period between 2017 and 2022 and analyze the periods before (2017 to 2019) and during COVID-19 pandemic (2020 to 2022). Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive epidemiological study, based on secondary data available in DATASUS, obtained through the SUS Hospital Information System and the Reduced Hospital Admission Authorization (AIH-RD). Data were collected on age group, sex, race, hospitalizations, mortality, and lethality rates throughout Brazil in the years 2017 to 2022. Results: Between 2017 and 2019, there were 156,105 hospitalizations. In the period from 2020 to 2022 there was a reduction to 115,583. In all the years analyzed, there was a higher prevalence in the Southeast region, in males, in mixed race, in infants between 1 and 6 months, reaching 72.29% in 2021 and 66.92% in 2020. Deaths were 75 in 2017, 34 in 2020 and 129 in 2022, with the highest fatality rate recorded in 2020, at 0.28%. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a reduction in hospitalizations for bronchiolitis, but with an increase in the letality rate in 2020. In all years analyzed, there was a predominance of cases in male and mixed-race infants, especially in the age group from 1 to 6 months.