HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR BRONCHIOLITIS IN CHILDREN UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE IN THE STATE OF ALAGOAS, BRAZIL, 2016-2025

Abstract

This study aimed to describe hospitalizations for acute bronchiolitis in children under one year of age living in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, from 2016 to 2025. This is an ecological and descriptive study using data from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System and population estimates provided by the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System. Hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis (code J21 of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) were included, and absolute and relative frequencies, rates per 1,000 children under one year of age, in-hospital case fatality and costs adjusted by the Broad National Consumer Price Index were calculated. There were 3,183 hospitalizations, with a rate of 6.6 per 1,000 in the period. The number was 90 in 2016, fell to 27 in 2020 and reached 785 in 2025, the year with the highest rate (18.0 per 1,000). Males (57.5%), the 28 to 364 days age group (88.9%), emergency admissions (93.6%) and length of stay of 4 to 7 days (41.4%) predominated. The intensive care unit was used in 17.1% of hospitalizations, and there were 34 deaths (case fatality of 1.1%). The 1st Health Region accounted for 32.7% of hospitalizations, and the highest rates occurred in the 9th (12.9 per 1,000) and 10th (11.4 per 1,000) regions. Total cost was R$ 4.2 million, and the mean cost per hospitalization rose from R$ 877.62 in 2016 to R$ 1,764.65 in 2025. The number and rate of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis in children under one year of age were higher from 2022 onwards, with differences between Health Regions and a higher mean cost per hospitalization in the final years of the series.