RESUMO
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic in Minas Gerais (MG) resulted in a decrease of the demand for healthcare, such as outpatient consultations, exams and elective surgeries, as one of the contingency strategies. Objective: To analyze deaths from respiratory and cardiac causes during the first half of 2020 occurring in households and hospitals in MG. Methodology: The causes of deaths were analyzed using data from the Civil Registry Transparency Portal (ARPEN) in epidemiological weeks 1st to 23th. Results: It was found that, compared to the same period in 2019, there was an increase in home deaths from pneumonia (17.59%), respiratory failure (IR) (20.65%), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (20.69%), sepsis (31.91%), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (15.56%), stroke (18.29%) and other cardiovascular causes (18.44%) in 2020. In relation to hospital deaths, a reduction in deaths from pneumonia (6.08%), from IR (3.59%) and from sepsis (2.21%) was observed, despite an increase of 338.30% for SARS. In addition, there was a 3.02% decrease in deaths from strokes, and a 3.41% increase in AMI and 2.93% for other cardiovascular causes. In relation to age and gender, regardless of the place of death, men aged between 75 and 80 years predominated. Discussion and Conclusions: It is believed that part of these deaths are related to the restructuring of the dynamics of hospital care, associated with the fear of seeking assistance and becoming infected by the new coronavirus. In conclusion that there was an increase in home deaths and a reduction in hospital deaths in 2020 due to respiratory and cardiac causes in the context of the pandemic.
Introdução: A pandemia pela COVID-19 em Minas Gerais (MG) acarretou na redução da procura por atendimentos médicos, como consultas ambulatoriais, exames e cirurgias eletivas, em resposta às estratégias de contingência. Objetivo: Analisar as mortes por causas respiratórias e cardiovasculares durante o primeiro semestre de 2020 ocorridas em domicílios e em hospitais de MG. Método: As causas de óbitos foram analisadas por meio dos dados do Portal da Transparência do Registro Civil (ARPEN) das semanas epidemiológicas 1 à 23. Resultados: Constatou-se que, comparativamente ao mesmo período de 2019, houve acréscimo nas mortes domiciliares por pneumonia (17,59%), insuficiência respiratória (IR) (20,65%), síndrome respiratória aguda grave (SRAG) (20,69%), sepse (31,91%), infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM) (15,56%), acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) (18,29%) e por outras causas cardiovasculares (18,44%) em 2020. Já em relação aos óbitos hospitalares, constatou-se redução das mortes por pneumonia (6,08%), por IR (3,59%) e por sepse (2,21%), apesar do incremento de 338,30% por SRAG. Além disso, encontrou-se decréscimo de 3,02% dos óbitos por AVC, e do crescimento de 3,41% por IAM e de 2,93% para outras causas cardiovasculares. Em relação à faixa etária e ao sexo, independentemente do local do óbito, predominou homens com idade entre 75 e 80 anos. Discussão e Conclusões: Acredita-se que parte desses óbitos esteja relacionada à reestruturação da dinâmica do atendimento hospitalar, associada ao medo de procurar assistência e infectar-se pelo novo coronavírus. Conclui-se que houve aumento de mortes domiciliares e redução das mortes hospitalares em 2020 por causas respiratórias e cardiovasculares em meio ao contexto da pandemia.
RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic brings to light the reality of the Brazilian health system. The underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), where the second largest population of the country is concentrated, reveals government unpreparedness, as there is a low capacity of testing in the population, which prevents the real understanding of the general panorama of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination. The goals of this research are to analyze the causes of deaths in different Brazilian government databases (Civil Registry Transparency Portal and InfoGripe) and to assess whether there are sub-records showing an unexpected increase in the frequency of deaths from causes clinically similar to COVID-19. A descriptive and quantitative analysis of the number of deaths by COVID-19 and similar causes was performed in different databases. Our results demonstrate that different official sources had a discrepancy of 109.45% between these data referring to the same period. There was also a 758.57% increase in SARI deaths in 2020, when compared to the average of previous years. Finally, it was shown that there was an increase in the rate of pneumonia and respiratory insufficiency (RI) by 6.34 and 6.25%, respectively. In conclusion, there is an underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in MG due to the unexplained excess of deaths caused by SARI, respiratory insufficiency, and pneumonia compared to previous years.
