Two diagnostics have been battling for first place in diagnostics 1,486 causes of death claim about 320,000 lives in the country every yearaccording to national statistics as of 2021 Excluding the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 137,963 people will die from the disease between 2020 and 2021.this heart failurewhich occurs when the heart’s ability to pump blood normally is impaired, and pneumonia On average, 52,480 people die each year.
nation Investigate these national statistics since 2005 what argentines died of. Lightning Network Data Trends in these data over fifteen years were analyzed to understand how effective patient attention ultimately is in terms of basic epidemiological indicators. Diseases that can be prevented, detected early and treated.These national statistics also illustrate the quality of information collected year after year from death certificates, a legal document that is internationally codified and has a high traceability value. health policy.
This is because, by definition World Health Organization (WHO)also describes the damage to the health of the population, and guides the programs or preventive measures or services that the health system must provide, as well as applications such as guaranteeing basic coverage that can be evaluated and planned.
For more than fifteen years, there have been 4.73% of deaths (265,461 deaths; 51% male) For reasons not clearly identified at the time of certification. According to Death Certificate International Coding Experts, this category is an indicator used to understand the accuracy of statistical data (the higher the proportion, the lower the accuracy of the record). Local registries also showed high rates of diagnoses such as sepsis, cerebrovascular accidents or chronic lung disease, without further specifying the type of treatment being given.
As of 2014, pneumonia was the most common cause of death recorded, especially among those over the age of 75, surpassing heart failure.
Of the 411,976 deaths from pneumonia, 0.17% were defined as Viral infectionwhile 5.5% handles An unspecified bacterium. Bacteria were identified in 0.06% (243) Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal vaccine available from the age of two), and in 17 cases, Haemophilus influenza.
But during the survey period, 94% died of pneumonia It is not known which infectious microorganism caused. According to the pulmonology and infection experts analyzed, this is usually because laboratory studies are not always performed, either due to lack of supply or lack of resources. Or, also because, despite the research, no definitive diagnosis can be made, although this rate is usually not that high.
Work published in the magazine by the Hospital de Clínicas team Chest In 2000, it had already reported that despite all recommended assessments (clinical and laboratory), 58% of cases of community-acquired pneumonia had no virus or bacteria causing the infection identified. Now, with more methods available—from rapid tests to molecular biology—the rate is already high at more than 90%, according to experts in pulmonology and infection.their common idea is Reducing it would improve epidemiological surveillance.
“Pneumonia mortality increases with age, and both morbidity and mortality accelerate after age 60. Mortality should rise as populations age, but international statistics show that mortality does not because of increase due to advances in medicine,” he explained. Carlos LunaAdvisory Professor and Director of the Pulmonology Specialist Program, Faculty of Medical Sciences University of Buenos Aires.
Luna is a researcher and co-author of the Clínicas study published more than two decades ago and a co-author of international guidelines for the clinical management of pneumonia in critically ill patients and in the community. Since then, some tools have become more available, such as the detection of pneumococcus and Legionella in urine, and the use of molecular methods, such as PCR testing, he added. “Even so, a proportion of pneumonia may remain unrecognized,” he said.
The only reason pneumonia death rates are likely to increase is because people are living longer. “It’s easier to get pneumonia and it’s easier to deal with pneumonia, but the international data doesn’t show a change in the overall mortality rate, regardless of epidemics or pandemics like COVID-19,” the expert continued in the conversation. nation–. If the situation in Argentina is different, it is not what our respiratory disease experts who specialize in infections think. If this did happen, it would be due to the instability of people due to age and the limitations that medicine always has in different parts of the country. “
In 2020, the first year of the new coronavirus pandemic, among people over the age of 75 Death rates from heart failure are on the rise again. Until six years ago, it was the most common cause of death when other cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke, were not considered.
‘Having more heart failure’Enrique Fairman, Field Coordinator at the Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC) and Director of the Heart Failure Unit at the Bazterrica and Santa Isabel Clinics. “In coronary wards, 50% of hospitalized patients have heart failure and are hospitalized as a result. The higher mortality rate seen in the statistics (compared to other causes) is due to increased prevalence“.
An estimated half of people with heart failure die suddenly, and older adults with the disease have a higher mortality rate than those without the disease.
Based on this, and given possible skepticism about the imperfection of primary data sources such as death certificates, experts are not surprised by this result. “People are living longer, and heart failure is a disease of older people. But it’s also related to how we treat other heart conditions better, and many patients with unresolved problems end up with heart failure. It’s a paradox, ’ he explained. He also mentioned that this improves diagnosis.
Feynman did not ignore the association of heart disease diagnoses with pneumonia. “Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes pneumonia can exacerbate heart failure and lead to patient death. For example, he explained, this can also be seen in cancer. Patients with heart failure die from pneumonia more often than those without heart failure.” much higher. Although controversial, the association cannot be ignored.”
Professionals clarified that this impaired heart function is not necessarily related to previous heart disease. In half of the cases, it may appear after a heart attack or be associated with coronary heart disease, but, as he explained, in the remaining cases, there is no direct relationship. “In these cases, the heart attack is heart failure,” Feynman said.
Based on changes over the past 17 years (2021 being the latest published national statistics), 13 causes of nearly half of all deaths each year.In addition to heart failure, pneumonia, and diabetes, heart disease, stroke (hemorrhagic and ischemic not specified), Respiratory failure, sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial, lung and colon cancers and Covid-19 As of 2020.
Unspecified and unspecified causes of death were never present and accounted for more than 5% of all deaths in any year surveyed. In 2008, it became the second leading cause of death registered after pneumonia. In 11 of these 17 years, malignant colon tumors were among the 10 most common causes of death.
At the other extreme, 99 of the more than 1,400 codified causes were the least common: 1 death in 17 years was attributed to them. Consequently, complications of anesthesia during pregnancy, calcium deficiency, failure to administer medications during nursing or surgery, contaminated drugs or biological substances, rabies, atopic dermatitis, viral conjunctivitis, retinal disease, breast enlargement, keratitis or Irritant contact dermatitis.
There were also deaths from crocodile or alligator biteinjuries from heavy vehicle collisions with scooter vehicles, dental caries, nail diseases, traumatic contact with plant thorns, thorns or cut leaves, even victims of volcanic eruptions, etc.
In collaboration with Sofía Weintraub and Natalia Louzau (LN Data)