Pacientes pediátricos de alta complexidade no atendimento domiciliar: internações e óbitos antes e após acompanhamento odontológico

Abstract

Oral problems can lead systemic complications and have been associated with cardiovascular diseases, endocarditis, changes in glycemic levels and respiratory infections. Despite several studies indicating the importance of oral care for patients presenting health disabilities who require daily professional care, there are few data regarding the impact of oral health care on children who require home medical care. The aim of this research was to evaluate the occurrence of hospitalizations and deaths before and after the regular dental follow-up of these patients. Data of variables related to hospitalization and deaths were collected from the Uberlandia Home Care Service (SAD) database, in 2021 (without dental care) and 2022 (with weekly dental care) from a total of 54 patients. The values were computed in spreadsheets, assigned levels in scores and analyzed in SPSS version 18.0. The McNemar test was used for comparison between years (p<0.05). Statistical difference was observed for the death rate (0.8% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2022; p<0.001) and for the number of hospitalizations (9.2% in 2021 and 6.3% in 2022; p<0.001). It was concluded that the hospitalization rate and death rate of patients under in home care decreased in the year in which there was weekly dental follow-up.