Main causes of hospitalization of children under the age of 05 in Brazil: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To describe the main causes of hospitalization of children under 05 years in Brazil. It is a Systematic Review. Results: in May 2021, 8 databases were searched, 1512 articles were found, 23 articles met the inclusion criteria, were analyzed, involving 3,648,861 admissions. Discussion: Most studies were of the Ecological type n=10 (47.62%), Cross-sectional n=6 (23.80%) and descriptive studies n=5 (19.04%); the others involved 1 Editorial (4.76%); and 1 Case-Control (4.76%). As for the level of evidence, 10 studies (47.62%) were classified with the level of evidence 2c (degree of evidence B), and another 11 (47.62%) had level of evidence 4 (degree of evidence C), one study (4.76%) presented level 3b (degree of evidence B). The main findings were that the main causes of hospitalizations of children under 05 years in Brazil from 2010 to May 2021 were respiratory diseases, followed by gastroenteritis and parasitic diseases, diseases sensitive to primary health care. Low age, maternal education level, low socioeconomic status, difficult access to health services, and environmental factors are factors that may be associated with morbidity and worsening of the child's health, culminating in hospitalization. Conclusion: the main causes of hospitalization of children under 05 years in Brazil are respiratory diseases, gastroenteritis, and parasitic diseases. Advances and improvements in Primary Health Care and the National Immunization Program were related to the reduction in hospitalizations of children under 05 years in Brazilian regions.