MORTALITY FROM PNEUMONIA IN BRAZIL'S MACRO-REGIONS BETWEEN 2017 AND 2021

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pneumonia consists of a respiratory infection whose pathophysiological mechanism is the accumulation of pus and liquid inside the alveoli, a fact that triggers pain when breathing and limits the incorporation of oxygen into the body. OBJECTIVE: To describe the panorama of mortality from pneumonia in the macro-regions of Brazil between 2017 and 2021. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an ecological and descriptive study, with a quantitative approach to mortality from pneumonia in the macro-regions of Brazil between 2017 and 2021. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In 2017, it was identified that the regions with the highest mortality rates were in descending order: Southwest, South, Northeast, Central-West and North. On the other hand, in 2021 this order changed to: Southwest, Northeast, South, North, Central-West. Furthermore, it appears that when considering all of Brazil between 2017 and 2021, the year with the highest mortality was 2019 with a rate of 39.53. On the other hand, the year with the lowest numbers was 2021 with a rate of 31.30. This reveals that after the peak in deaths that occurred in 2019, there was a reduction in cases. CONCLUSION: Based on the above, it was observed that the peak of pneumonia mortality in Brazil was directly influenced by COVID-19. Furthermore, the Southeast region suffered the highest mortality rates in all years, a fact that was also evidenced in other studies carried out in periods prior to this research.