CLINICAL-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF HOSPITALISED PATIENTS IN PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

Introduction : Paediatric intensive care units have made important advances in technology and assistance since the 1980s, which have made more favourable the prognosis of critically ill children all over the world. Objective : Identify the epidemiological profile and clinical outcomes of hospitalised children and adolescents in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Hospital Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil. Methods : A descriptive and retrospective study carried out in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Hospital Infantil Nossa Senhora da Gloria in the city of Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil. Age, sex, ospitalisation diagnosis, progression to discharge/death, and length of hospital admission were obtained from the Sector of Medical and Hospital Statistics Files between 2011 and 2012. For the descriptive analysis, categorical variables were expressed as absolute and percentage, and the continuous variables in average and standard deviation. For comparison, Pearson’s chi-squared tests, Fisher’s test, and Student’s t test were used and p values <0.05 with confidence interval of 95% were considered statistically significant. Results : Of the 609 patients analysed, 342 (56.2%) were male (mean age: 72.7 ± 71.3 months). Respiratory disease, postoperative processes, and trauma were the main causes of hospitalisation. The average duration of hospitalization was 6.9 ± 5.5 days; 514 (84.4%) patients were discharged, 95 (15.6%) died, and of those, 53 (55.7%) died in less than 72 hours of hospitalisation. Conclusion : Most of the patients were less than 2 years of age. The leading causes of hospitalisation were respiratory disease (pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and asthma), sepsis, and head injury, which was the major cause of the trauma motivated by violence. The average hospital admission in the unit was one week and the mortality rate was 15.6%, with one third of the deaths recorded in the first 72 hours of hospitalisation.