SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR LEUKEMIA IN CHILDREN UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE IN THE STATE OF ALAGOAS, BRAZIL, 2010 TO 2024

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the sociodemographic aspects and the epidemiological profile of hospitalizations for leukemia in children under 10 years of age living in Alagoas, Brazil, from 2010 to 2024. This is an ecological, descriptive and quantitative study using data from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SIH/SUS), obtained from TabNet/DATASUS, and DATASUS population estimates to calculate rates per 10,000 children. A total of 2,608 hospitalizations in hospitals of the state were analyzed, with a rate of 3.3 per 10,000 children over the period. The annual number ranged from 11 hospitalizations in 2010 to 297 in 2020, the year with the highest rate (5.9 per 10,000). Male sex (56.9%), the 1 to 4 years age group (52.7%), urgent admission (97.7%) and lymphoid leukemia (79.7%) predominated. Intensive care unit use occurred in 10.1% of hospitalizations, a length of stay of 4 to 7 days in 36.4% and in-hospital death in 3.6%. The 1st Health Region accounted for 31.7% of hospitalizations. Total expenditure, adjusted by the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), was BRL 8,177,197.98, with a mean of BRL 3,135.43 per hospitalization. It is concluded that hospitalizations were concentrated in boys aged 1 to 4 years, as urgent admissions, which supports the planning of pediatric cancer care and nursing practice.