Sandra Costa Fuchs

Avaliação da qualidade da informação sobre a causa básica de óbitos infantis no Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil)

The validity of the official information on the cause of infant deaths was studied in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Pelotas in 1985. Using data collected for a population-based case-control study of infant mortality due to infectious diseases or malnutrition, a comparison was made between the causes of death reported on the death certificates and those obtained after a careful review of case-notes and a medical interview with the parents of the decreased infants. Official death certificates showed an excess of deaths attribute to bronchopneumonia (ICD 485X) and septicemia (ICD 038.9), and an underestimation of the number of deaths due to diarrheal diseases (ICD 009.1) and of sudden infant deaths (ICD 798.0). The overall rate of agreement between official and revised certificates, in terms of groups of causes of death, was only 27.9%. Lower respiratory infections, which were the leading infectious cause of infant death according to official statistics, were superseded by diarrheal diseases after this revision.A partir de dados coletados para um estudo de casos e controles sobre mortalidade infantil por doencas infecciosas e desnutricao realizado em Porto Alegre e Pelotas, RS (Brasil), comparou-se as causas de obito constantes do atestado medico com as causas obtidas atraves de uma revisao detalhada, realizada pela equipe da investigacao. Concluiu-se que as estatisticas oficiais nao sao fidedignas, tendo havido sobre-registro de broncopneumonias (CID 485X) e de septicemias (CID 038.9), e sub-registro de gastroenterites (CID 009.1) e de mortes subitas (CID 798.0). A concordância entre os atestados refeitos e os oficiais, em termos de grupos de causas de obito, foi de apenas 27.9%.