Congenital syphilis in Brazil before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

To analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on a notification of impact cases in Brazil from 2018 to 2021. This is a retrospective, descriptive, quantitative, document-based study, with a search in the databases of the SINAM and SIH/SUS. In the period evaluated, 83,934 cases of congenital syphilis were reported in Brazil, with a decrease of 59%. Hospitalizations increased by 14.9%, with a predominance in the Southeast region, however, the North and Northeast regions recorded more hospitalizations than reported cases. Evaluating the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, there is a decrease in cases in all regions to the detriment of an increase in hospitalizations in the North, Northeast and Southeast. The disease does not have a predominance in terms of sex, but it prevails in newborns aged 0 to 6 days (94.76%) and in mixed-race (52.91%). 89.13% of the cases in the recent form evolved as alive while 1.25% died. It is noted that congenital syphilis is still prevalent in Brazil and that changes in the health system due to Covid-19 had a negative impact on prenatal care, reducing the screening and early diagnosis of the disease, since the number of patients admitted is higher than the reported cases.