Perfil clínico e epidemiológico de casos de síndrome respiratória aguda grave em pacientes pediátricos em um município do norte gaúcho

Abstract

To characterize the clinical and epidemiological profile of pediatric patients notified as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, carried out using a from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP-Gripe) during the period from January to December 2020 in a city in South Brazil. Epidemiological and clinical data from patients aged 0 to 18 years, were collected through the individual record notification forms for SARS cases. Data were presented by the absolute and relative frequency of the studied variables Results: A total of 154 pediatric patients were identified in the analyzed period, being 53.2% were male, predominantly aged between 1 and 4 years (46.8%) and white skin color (91.6%). The main symptoms identified were respiratory distress (83.8%), saturation ≤ 95% (79.2%), dyspnea (77.3%), and fever (69.5%). More than 60% of patients had some comorbidity as a risk factor for SARS, 25 (16.2%) were classified as SARS by COVID-19, and about 80% evolved with diagnostic cure. Conclusion: The pediatric SARS population studied is predominantly male, under the age of 5 years, with respiratory distress and previous comorbidities being frequent variables observed. The mortality rate is higher than that observed in the literature and there is a large number of non-specific SARS, therefore, more specific diagnostic methods are needed to determine the etiologic agent and improve management in relation to possible worsening of cases and dissemination of viral agents.