[Early neonatal mortality according to level of hospital complexity in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil]

Assessing the risks for stillbirth in São Paulo, Brazil: protocol for a multidisciplinary case-control study - FetRisks

Stillbirth is a fundamental component of childhood mortality, but its causes are still insufficiently understood. This study aims to explore stillbirth risk factors by using a multidisciplinary approach to stimulate public policies and protocols to prevent stillbirth, improve maternal care and support bereaved families. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this case-control study with stillbirths and live births in 14 public hospitals in São Paulo, mothers are interviewed at hospitals after delivery, and hospital records and prenatal care registries are reviewed. Maternal and umbilical cord blood samples and placentas are collected to analyse angiogenesis and infection biomarkers, and the placenta's anatomopathological exam. Air pollutant exposure is estimated through the participant's residence and work addresses. Traditional and non-invasive autopsies by image-guided histopathology are conducted in a subset of stillbirths. Subsample mothers of cases are interviewed at home 2 months after delivery on how they were dealing with grief. Information contained in the official prenatal care registries of cases and controls is being compiled. Hospital managers are interviewed about the care offered to stillbirth mothers. Data analysis will identify the main risk factors for stillbirth, investigate their interrelations, and evaluate health services care and support for bereaved families. We hope this project will contribute to the understanding of stillbirth's risk factors and related health services in Brazil, providing new knowledge about this central public health problem, contributing to the improvement of public policies and prenatal and puerperal care, helping to prevent stillbirths and improve the healthcare and support for bereaved families. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Municipal Health Secretary (process no 16509319.0.3012.5551) and of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (process no 16509319.0.0000.0068). Results will be communicated to the study participants, policy-makers and the scientific community.

LIVE BIRTHS OF IMMIGRANT MOTHERS IN BRAZIL: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

[Individual and contextual determinants of infant mortality in Brazilian state capitals: a multilevel approach]

The study sought to identify individual and contextual risk factors in healthcare and their interactions and regional differences in the determination of infant mortality in Brazilian state capitals. This was a case-control study that analyzed 7,470 infant deaths in 2012 in the 27 state capitals, recorded in the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM) and matched with the Brazilian Information System on Live Births (SINASC) through linkage and 24,285 controls obtained by sampling the surviving liveborn infants from 2011 to 2012 from the total of 1,424,691 births. The individual explanatory variables corresponded to information available in the SINASC database, and the contextual variable consisted of a quality index for hospital care in the 702 healthcare services where the births occurred. A multilevel logistic model was used to analyze interaction. The principal determinants of infant mortality were biological factors (low birthweight, prematurity, congenital malformations, severe/moderate asphyxia, and race/color), mediated by maternal socioeconomic factors (schooling, marital status, and occupation) and insufficiency of prenatal care. Low number of prenatal visits was a risk factor for infant mortality, independently of the service's quality, except in the state capitals in the South of Brazil. In the interaction between income and prenatal care, few prenatal visits and birth in high-income state capitals showed a higher risk when compared to births in low-income state capitals (OR = 0.68). Multilevel analysis evidenced regional inequalities in the risk models and reiterated the importance of biological determinants in the mediation of socioeconomic and healthcare factors in infant mortality.

Fatores associados à internação e à mortalidade neonatal em uma coorte de recém-nascidos do Sistema Único de Saúde, no município de São Paulo

RESUMO: Introdução: A assistência prestada ao recém-nascido é importante fator associado à internação e à mortalidade neonatal. Objetivo: Analisar fatores associados à hospitalização e à mortalidade neonatal dos recém-nascidos (RN) internados no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) em São Paulo, 2012. Métodos: Obteve-se coorte de RN do SUS, com base na vinculação dos dados do Sistema de Informações Hospitalares do SUS, Sistema de Informações sobre Nascido Vivo, Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade e Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde. Realizou-se regressão de Poisson e de Cox. Resultados: 16,5% (9.127) dos RN foram internados, 4,7% (2.613) em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN) e 11,8% (6.514) em Unidade de Cuidado Intermediário Neonatal (UCIN). Idade materna ≥ 35 anos (risco relativo - RR = 1,1, intervalo de confiança de 95% - IC95% 1,1 - 1,2), pré-natal inadequado (RR = 1,2, IC95% 1,1 - 1,3), internação por complicações obstétricas (RR = 1,1, IC95% 1,1 - 1,2), prematuridade (≤ 32 semanas: RR = 1,6, IC95% 1,5 - 1,8; 32 a 36 semanas: RR = 1,7, IC95% 1,6 - 1,7), baixo peso (< 1.500 g: RR = 2,4, IC95% 2,1 - 2,6; 1.500 a 2.499 g: RR = 2,6, IC95% 2,5 - 2,7), APGAR 5º < 7 (RR = 1,9, IC95% 1,7 - 2), parto cesáreo (RR = 1,1, IC95% 1,1 - 1,2) e malformação congênita (RR = 1,4, IC95% 1,3 - 1,5) associaram-se à internação dos RN. A mortalidade neonatal associou-se aos RN com menos de 1.500 g (RR = 9,1, IC95% 6,3 - 13,1), muito prematuros (RR = 2,6, IC95% 1,9 - 3,5), com baixo Apgar (RR = 5,5, IC95% 4,6 - 6,7). Conclusão: Pré-natal inadequado, prematuridade e baixo peso foram fatores de risco para hospitalização e mortalidade neonatal.

NEONATAL MORBIDITY NEAR MISS IN TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN A CAPITAL OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL

OBJECTIVE

To characterize near miss neonatal morbidity in tertiary hospitals in a capital city of Northeast Brazil based on Health Information Systems, and to identify differences regarding indicators of near miss cases, allowing the surveillance of newborns with risk of death.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study carried out in hospitals with neonatal intensive care unit, whose neonatal near miss cases in 2012 were identified from a deterministic linkage between the Mortality Information System and the Live Birth Information System. The biological variables of children, variables related to maternal characteristics and indicators of near miss were calculated by type of service and hospital. Biological variables of children, variables related to maternal characteristics and near miss indicators were calculated by service type and hospital and then compared by ratio difference test, parametric and non-parametric tests for measures of central tendency.

RESULTS

Of 24,254 live births, 2,098 cases of neonatal morbidity near miss were identified, most of them concentrated in the public hospitals (89.9%). The combination of birth weight and gestational age had the largest number of cases in both segments, public (43.5%) and private (46%). Variations in neonatal near miss indicators were observed between hospitals, which suggests assistance problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The concept of neonatal near miss, its applicability with data from Health Information Systems, and its indicators are a preliminary tool to monitor hospital care for newborns by signaling health services that require in-depth evaluation and investments for quality improvement.

[Differences in live birth clusters in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, 2010]

This study aimed to identify birth clusters according to type of hospital (SUS vs. non-SUS) and the existence of differences in socioeconomic, maternal, neonatal, and healthcare access characteristics, measured by the distance between the mothers' homes and the hospitals where they gave birth. Births to mothers residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2010 were georeferenced and allocated in 310 weighting areas from the population census, in addition to classifying them according to hospital of birth (SUS vs. non-SUS). Spatial clusters were identified through the spatial sweep technique for spatial dependence of SUS and non-SUS births, leading to the formation of ten SUS clusters and seven non-SUS clusters. Births in non-SUS hospitals formed clusters in the city's central area, with a lower proportion of low-income households. The SUS birth clusters were located on the outskirts of the city, where there are more households in subnormal clusters. Both SUS and non-SUS clusters were not internally homogeneous, showing differences in maternal age, schooling, and number of prenatal visits and very premature newborns. The theoretical mean distance traveled by mothers to the hospital was 51.8% lower in the SUS clusters (5.1km) than in the non-SUS clusters (9.8km). The formation of birth clusters showed differences in maternal, pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal characteristics, in addition to displaying a radial-concentric spatial distribution, reflecting the city's prevailing socioeconomic differences. The shorter distance in SUS births indicates regionalization of childbirth care in the city of São Paulo.

[Hospitalizations due to complications of pregnancy and maternal and perinatal outcomes in a cohort of pregnant women in the Brazilian Unified National Health System in São Paulo, Brazil]

Maternal morbidity, fetal mortality, and neonatal mortality are important indicators of maternal and child health. The study aimed to describe maternal and perinatal outcomes (low birth weight, prematurity, fetal and neonatal deaths, postpartum hospitalizations, and readmission of newborns) in a cohort of pregnant women whose deliveries were covered by the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in the second semester of 2012. We obtained a retrospective cohort of 55,404 pregnant women with deterministic and probabilistic linkage of data from the Hospital Information System of the SUS (SIH/SUS), Information System on Live Births (SINASC), Mortality Information System (SIM), and National Registry of Health Establishments (CNES) databases. Hospitalizations due to obstetric complications occurred in 4.3% of the women. The most frequent diagnoses were infection, hypertensive disease of pregnancy, and diabetes. Hospitalizations prior to childbirth were more common in pregnant women 35 years or older and those with a history of multiple pregnancies and low schooling. Postpartum hospitalizations were three times greater and maternal mortality was nine times greater in pregnant women with a history of previous hospitalization due to obstetric complications. Adverse perinatal outcomes (fetal and neonatal mortality and low birth weight) were twice as frequent in infants of women with previous hospitalization when compared to those without. A similar pattern was seen in hospitalization of newborns soon after birth and in hospital readmission. Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes were more frequent in pregnant women with a history of previous hospitalization.

Neonatal near miss in the Birth in Brazil survey

This study used data from the Birth in Brazil survey, a nationwide hospital-based study of 24,197 postpartum women and their newborns, collected between February 2011 and July 2012. A three-stage cluster sampling design (hospitals, days, women) was used consisting of stratification by geographic region, type of municipality (capital or non-capital), and type of hospital financing. Logistic regression was used to identify variables that were potential predictors of neonatal mortality and neonatal near miss indicators. After testing nineteen variables, five were chosen to compose a set of neonatal near miss indicators (birth weight of less than 1,500 g, Apgar score of less than 7 in the 5th minute of life, use of mechanical ventilation, gestational age of less than 32 weeks and congenital malformations). The neonatal near miss rate in the Birth in Brazil survey was 39.2 per thousand live births, three and a half times higher than the neonatal mortality rate (11.1 per thousand). These neonatal near miss indicators were able to identify situations with a high risk of neonatal death.

Estrutura das maternidades: aspectos relevantes para a qualidade da atenção ao parto e nascimento

Avaliar aspectos da estrutura de uma amostra de maternidades do Brasil. A estrutura foi avaliada tendo como referências as normas do Ministério da Saúde e englobou: localização geográfica, volume de partos, existência de UTI, atividade de ensino, qualificação de recursos humanos, disponibilidade de equipamentos e medicamentos. Os resultados evidenciam diferenças na qualificação e na disponibilidade de equipamentos e insumos dos serviços de atenção ao parto e nascimento segundo o tipo de financiamento, regiões do país e grau de complexidade. As regiões Norte/Nordeste e Centro-oeste apresentaram os maiores problemas. No Sul/Sudeste, os hospitais estavam melhores estruturados, atingindo proporções satisfatórias em vários dos aspectos estudados, próximas ou mesmo superiores ao patamar da rede privada. O presente estudo traz para o debate a qualidade da estrutura dos serviços hospitalares ofertados no país, e sublinha a necessidade de desenvolvimento de estudos analíticos que considerem o processo e os resultados da assistência.

Análise espacial dos aglomerados de nascimentos ocorridos em hospitais SUS e não SUS do município de São Paulo, Brasil

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a distribuição espacial de nascidos vivos (NV) do município de São Paulo (MSP), verificar se há dependência espacial, identificar possíveis diferenças no perfil dos nascimentos e avaliar as distâncias percorridas entre os domicílios e os hospitais do parto. Foram estudados os NV ocorridos em hospitais de alta complexidade, quatro SUS e quatro da rede não SUS no MSP em 2008. Foram georreferenciados 46.190 NV: 48,8% em hospitais SUS e 51,2% não SUS, estes representaram 27,9% do total de NV do MSP. Os NV de hospitais SUS formaram dois aglomerados com elevada proporção de domicílios com renda de 1/2 a 2SM, concentração de favelas e altas taxas de natalidade. Os NV de hospitais não SUS formaram um aglomerado na região central do MSP, onde há elevada proporção de domicílios com renda > 10 SM e baixa natalidade. Foram encontradas diferenças estaticamente significantes das características maternas, da gestação e do parto entre os NV de hospitais SUS e não SUS e da frequência de gemelaridade. Não houve diferença na prevalência de baixo peso e pré-termo. Os resultados mostraram existir diferenciais no perfil dos aglomerados de NV, que refletem as desigualdades das condições de vida do MSP.