Epidemiological analysis of priority congenital anomalies for the birth surveillance purposes in a health regional in Maranhão

Abstract

Introduction: Priority congenital anomalies for birth surveillance purposes constitute a group of
anomalies defined by the Brazilian Ministry of Health that can be identified in a timely manner
after birth, mainly because they have characteristics that facilitate postpartum identification, as well as the early management and the accomplishment of appropriate therapies. Objective: To determine the incidence trend and characterize priority congenital anomaly cases for birth surveillance purposes in a health regional in the southwest of Maranhão, Brazil. Methods: Ecological study, typified as time series, carried out with data on live births with anomalies in the Imperatriz Health Regional, Maranhão (2011-2020), based on data from the Information System on Live Births. The temporal trend analysis of incidence rates was performed using Prais Winsten linear regressions, through the SPSS software, version 24.0, at 5% significance. Results: There were 222 priority anomaly cases. Limb defects had a higher incidence (0.88/1,000), with an annual variation rate of -5.6 (95% CI: -15.7; 5.7) and a stable p-value of 0.35. There was a predominance of single women (69.36%), up to 29 years of age (72.98%), full-term (77.03%) and single (95.94%) pregnancies. The majority of newborns were males (60.81%), with adequate weight (70.72%) and brown color (79.28%). Conclusion: The occurrence of priority congenital anomalies in the southwest of Maranhão was stable, with a predominance of limb defects. Prenatal care provides early diagnosis, although data shows that congenital anomalies are still prevalent.