Objective:

to describe proportions and rates of hospitalization for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) among children under 5 years old, in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, 2012.

Methods:

this is a descriptive study using Brazilian National Health Service Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS) data, classified according to the Brazilian ACSC List.

Results:

a total of 32,445 children aged <5 years old were hospitalized, 25,7% of whom were ACSC cases, representing a rate of 20.1/1,000 inhabitants in the same age group; the main causes were infectious gastroenteritis and complications (26.7%), bacterial pneumonia (22.2%) and pulmonary diseases (16.9%); there was a higher hospitalization rate due to ACSC in males (21.1/1,000), and in children <1 year old (43.8/1,000).

Conclusion:

The results showed that the State of Santa Catarina had lower rates and proportions than those found in other Brazilian studies, even though ACSC were the cause of one quarter of hospitalizations in children aged <5 years.

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