Dados do Trabalho

Título

Mortality by cerebral cryptococcosis in Brazil: a five-year retrospective analysis

Resumo

Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease that manifests as a chronic meningoencephalitis in its neurological form, having unispecific symptoms, such as headache, fever, cranial nerves paralysis, sensory, motor and memory deficits. This disease usually occurs in immunosuppressed patients, where Cryptococcus neoformans is the main agent. This research aims to trace the epidemiological profile of mortality by cerebral cryptococcosis in Brazil, comparing the data from the 5 national regions from 2016 to 2020. A cross-sectional, descriptive, and retrospective study was conducted using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM/Datasus) and from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). We calculated the mortality rate per 10 million inhabitants in Brazil and in the five regions individually for each year analyzed. Furthermore, the profile of mortality by age and gender was also accessed. 419 deaths were recorded. The national average mortality rate per 10 million inhabitants per year was 4.01, with the North Region presenting the highest average (8.03) and the Northeast Region the lowest (2.96). In 2016, Brazil presented 3.59 deaths per 10 million inhabitants. The North Region had presented the highest average with 7.34, and the Northeast Region the lowest with 1.93. By the end of 2020, Brazil showed a mortality rate of 3.87, with a 7.8% growth compared to the beginning of the period. The Northeast region remained with the lowest mortality (2.09), with an increase of 8.22%, and the Southeast region showed the highest mortality (4.83), with an increase of 26.42%, which was the second-highest increase recorded. The most expressive increase was 40.84%, which occurred in the South Region. There was a higher number of deaths caused by cerebral cryptococcosis among men (69,45%) than women. Moreover, the 30 to 59 age group was the most affected, concentrating the majority (58.47%) of deaths. In conclusion, this study allowed a better understanding of the mortality by cerebral cryptococcosis in Brazil, which showed a growth trend in the country. A significant interregional discrepancy was observed, with the South and Southeast regions showing the highest growth rates. It is questioned that this disparity may be associated with several factors, such as underreporting and endemicity of the pathology, but further studies are needed to elucidate the relevance of these factors. Moreover, it was possible to analyze the age range and the most affected gender.

Palavras Chave

cerebral cryptococcosis; epidemiology; mortality