Restrictions on access to Pediatric Intensive Care Units before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Brito, Patrícia Meireles
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Ribeiro, Kátia Suely Queiroz Silva, Goes, Paulo Savio Angeiras de, Sarinho, Silvia Wanick
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Baiana de Saúde Pública (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://rbsp.sesab.ba.gov.br/index.php/rbsp/article/view/3862
• topic: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Pediátrica; Covid-19; Acesso aos serviços de saúde; Equidade em saúde; Estudos transversais; Unidades de cuidado intensivo pediátrico; Covid-19; Accesibilidad a los servicios de salud; Equidad en salud; Estudios transversales; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; COVID-19; Health services accessibility; Health equity; Cross-sectional studies

This study compares the reasons for the rejection of requests for admission of children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pernambuco, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted with data on the main reasons for PICU rejection registered on the Hospital Regulation System from 2019 to 2020. Descriptive analysis and Fisher’s exact test were performed, with a significance of 5%. Of the 2,501 PICU referrals, 91 (7.7%) were rejected in 2019 and 123 (9.3%) in 2020. The main reasons for rejection were significant incompatibility of the clinical condition with the resource required (2019: N = 8, 2020: N = 36; p-value = 0.009) and lack of equipment and infrastructure (2019: N = 19, 2020: N = 28; p-value = 0.007). In conclusion, rejections for PICU admission increased due to organizational barriers such as lack of human resources and unavailability of beds, which persisted during the pandemic.