Internações por condições sensíveis à atenção primária em município do sudeste do Brasil

Abstract

Objective: To study the most frequent causes of hospitalizations for primary care-sensitive conditions (HPCSC) in the city of Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil, by age group and gender, over the periods of 2002 to 2005 and of 2006 to 2009. Methods: This was a descriptive study, with data collected from the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (Sistema de Informação Hospitalar do Sistema Único de Saúde – SIH-SUS) and from population projections by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE). HPCSC rates were cal- culated for 1,000 inhabitants, and the most frequent causes were studied by gender and age group, comparing both periods. Results: HPCSP showed rates of 7.74/1,000 between 2002 and 2005 and 8.81/1,000 between 2006 and 2009. The main causes were heart failure, cerebrovascular diseases, angina pecto-ris, pulmonary diseases, and kidney and urinary tract infections, which together represented 4.9/1,000 in the first period and 5.6/1,000 in the second period. The evolution of the rates between both periods occurred differently by age group and gender. Conclusion: The study did not exhibit any remarkable differences in HPCSC rates between the periods. Regarding the most frequent causes, reduced hospitalization rates for gastroen-teritis, asthma, high blood pressure, and cerebrovascular diseases were observed, as well as increased hospitalizations for heart failure, pulmonary diseases, epilepsies, and kidney and urinary tract infections; these hospitalizations occurred differently by gender and age group. The results showed that a deep reflection regarding the determinants of hospitalizations for avoidable causes is needed.