Sensitivity of the Dengue Surveillance System in Brazil for Detecting Hospitalized Cases
Open Access
- 18 May 2016
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
- Vol. 10 (5), e0004705
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004705
Abstract
We evaluated the sensitivity of the dengue surveillance system in detecting hospitalized cases in ten capital cities in Brazil from 2008 to 2013 using a probabilistic record linkage of two independent information systems hospitalization (SIH-SUS) adopted as the gold standard and surveillance (SINAN). Sensitivity was defined as the proportion of cases reported to the surveillance system amid the suspected hospitalized cases registered in SIH-SUS. Of the 48,174 hospitalizations registered in SIH-SUS, 24,469 (50.7%) were reported and registered in SINAN, indicating an overall sensitivity of 50.8% (95%CI 50.3–51.2). The observed sensitivity for each of the municipalities included in the study ranged from 22.0% to 99.1%. The combination of the two data sources identified 71,161 hospitalizations, an increase of 97.0% over SINAN itself. Our results allowed establishing the proportion of underreported dengue hospitalizations in the public health system in Brazil, highlighting the use of probabilistic record linkage as a valuable tool for evaluating surveillance systems.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Hepatitis C prevalence in Denmark -an estimate based on multiple national registersBMC Infectious Diseases, 2012
- The Economic Burden of DengueThe American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2012
- Multicentre prospective study on dengue classification in four South‐east Asian and three Latin American countriesTropical Medicine & International Health, 2011
- The Brazilian health system: history, advances, and challengesThe Lancet, 2011
- Dengue in Thailand and Cambodia: An Assessment of the Degree of Underrecognized Disease Burden Based on Reported CasesPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2011
- Health Economics of Dengue: A Systematic Literature Review and Expert Panel's AssessmentThe American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2011
- Economic Impact of Dengue Illness in the AmericasThe American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2011
- Tuberculosis and AIDS Co-Morbidity in Children: Linkage of Databases from Espirito Santo State, BrazilJournal of Tropical Pediatrics, 2010
- High Dengue Case Capture Rate in Four Years of a Cohort Study in Nicaragua Compared to National Surveillance DataPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2010
- Recent Shift in Age Pattern of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, BrazilEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2008