Indications of Inadequate Perinatal Attention in Neonatal Intensive Therapy Unit of João Pessoa - Paraíba – Brazil

Abstract

SUMMARY Objective: To identify the causes of hospitalization and death in newborns from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in a Public Hospital. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study using a database of 411 institutional admissions in a period of 46 months from 2004 to 2008, using the diagnostic and gender variables. The diagnoses of deaths were obtained from the Joao Pessoa City (Paraiba, Brazil) Government Health Department’s database. We identified the pathologies that led to hospitalization and afterwards, those which led to death. In the second stage, diseases were grouped in four main groups of affinity, which are, Cardiopulmonary Diseases, Congenital Malformation, Infectious and Gastrointestinal diseases. Low frequency Conditions formed the group “Other” and Prematurity formed a single group. The data were submitted to descriptive and inferential Statistical analysis. Results: The male was slightly more involved in the hospitalization. The Cardiopulmonary diseases were the most frequent cause of hospitalization, followed by Prematurity and Congenital malformation syndromes, however the Infectious Diseases were the most frequent cause of death. When the three main groups were tested for the verification of sex differences in death diagnoses, there was no significant difference in the grounds of hospitalization. Conclusion: There was a discrepancy between the reasons for hospitalization and the diagnoses of deaths. The predominance of Cardiopulmonary Diseases and Prematurity as causes of hospitalization suggests inadequate prenatal care. Moreover, the prevalence of infectious diseases as the cause of death suggests inadequacy in the post-natal care. DESCRIPTORS Hospitalization. Mortality. Intensive Care. Prenatal care. Postnatal care. Primary Attention.