Evaluation of acute events hospital admissions in sickle cell disease pediatric patients at a reference center in Salvador, BA

OBJECTIVES: Identify the main causes of hospital admissions of patients less than 18 years old with sickle cell disease (SCD) in a reference hospital of Salvador, BA and describe the sociodemographic profile, cost and duration of admission and outpatient follow-up in our sample. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of admissions of patients of less than 18 years old with SCD (IDC D57.0, D57.1, D57.2, D57.8) from January 2013 to June 2018, at a reference hospital in Salvador, BA. Clinical and demographic variables were extracted from patient charts, such as gender, age, hemoglobin genotype, admission cause and cost. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing with chi-square, Students t, Mann-Whitney and Fishers exact test using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v. 23.0. Research was aproved by the ethics and research committee for human beings research of Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce. RESULTS: 53 admissions were analyzed, with vaso oclusive event as the main cause (20-37.7%), followed by infection (15-28.3%) and acute thoracic syndrome (8-15.1%). 23 (73.58%) of admissions happened in the first decade of life (p=0,008). Only 4 (7.5%) of patients used hydroxiurea. 45.3% admissions happened in the fall and 11.3% in spring (p=0,04). CONCLUSION: Despite the inversion of the main causes of hospitalization, they are still the most prevalent, reinforcing the possibility of need for better adherence to prophylactic measures and better access to outpatient treatment with hydroxyurea in structured and well-distributed network.