COVID-19 as the leading cause of hospital deaths in the Brazilian public health system in 2020

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases Vol. 113; pp. 162 - 165
• Main Authors: Zimmermann, Ivan Ricardo, Sanchez, Mauro Niskier, Alves, Layana Costa, Frio, Gustavo Saraiva, Cavalcante, Fabrício Vieira, Cortez-Escalante, Juan José, da Silva, Everton Nunes, Santos, Leonor Maria Pacheco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2021; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases; Elsevier
• Subjects: Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; Cause of death; COVID-19; Hospital mortality; Hospitals, Public; Humans; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2l; Short Communication; Unified health system; Brazil; COVID-19; Brazil; SARS-CoV-2l; Hospital mortality; Unified health system; Cause of death
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.09.077

•There was a 16.7% increase in the number of hospital deaths in 2020 compared with 2019 in Brazil.•More than 19% of hospital deaths in 2020 were related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was the leading cause of hospital death.•Forty percent of COVID-19 deaths were in individuals of black/brown ethnicity and 75% were among adults aged ≥60 years.•Brazil experienced a high death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Objectives: To describe the profile of hospital deaths in Brazil according to cause of admission during the pre-pandemic (2019) and pandemic periods (2020). Methods: Descriptive study based on individual-level records of all hospital admissions with death outcomes reimbursed by the Brazilian National Health System in 2019 and 2020. Results: The number of hospital deaths increased by 16.7% in 2020 compared with 2019 (522,686 vs 609,755). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was associated with 19.5% (118,879) of all hospital deaths in 2020, surpassing diseases of the circulatory system (15.4%, 93,735) and diseases of the respiratory system (14.9%, 91,035). Conclusions: COVID-19 was the main cause of death in public hospitals in Brazil in 2020.