Hospitalizations due to malignant skin neoplasm in the unified health system: an ecological time-series study

Abstract

To analyze hospitalizations due to malignant skin neoplasms in the Brazilian Unified Health System. This is a descriptive ecological study of time series, with data from the SUS Hospital Information System, analyzed using Prais-Winsten generalized linear regression. Between 2013 and 2022, 453.714 hospitalizations due to cutaneous malignancy were recorded, 80.4% of which were elective and the average mortality rate was 2.1%. On the other hand, hospitalizations that progressed to cure showed the highest values (22.7 and 69.1 cases/100,000) and an increasing trend. The hospitalization rate in Brazil grew, from 16.2 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2013 to 28.6 per 100 inhabitants in 2022, however, there was a reduction in 2020 and 2021, the period of the Covid-19 pandemic. There was an increase in the coefficient of hospitalizations during the period analyzed, especially in the age group of 80 years, males and Southern Brazil, although a stationary mortality rate is maintained. Thus, it is important to improve public policies that raise awareness among the population about skin cancer, in order to carry out an early diagnosis and treatment, aiming at reducing complications and saving the public system.