Abstract
Objectives:
to examine the profile of avoidable infant deaths investigated and produce a concordance between the basic cause declared on the original death certificate (DO) and the one produced after investigation.
Methods:
a population-based study examining infant deaths and avoidable deaths investigated by the Belo Horizonte Death Prevention Committee (CMPOFI), in 2010 and 2011. The death certificate issued after investigation was based on analysis of data from outpatient centers, hospitals and households conducted by the CMPOFI. The causes of death were codified according to the 10th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Problems Related to Health and the basic cause selected. The concordance between the basic cause of death on the original death certificate and on the one produced after investigation, analyzed according to the reduced list tabulating the causes of infant mortality (LIR-MI), was determined using the Kappa index.
Results:
the Kappa index was weak (K=0.389; CI95%: 0.192-5.76) when evaluated using the LIR-MI groups. There were significant changes in the cause of death after investigation, with an increase in the proportion of deaths from asphyxia, maternal factors, child infections, perinatal infections, external causes and sudden infant death syndrome.
Conclusions:
the investigation of deaths shed greater light on the circumstances of avoidable infant deaths and the classification of the basic cause, which are fundamental steps in guiding action to prevent such deaths.
Key words
Cause of death; Infant mortality; Reproducibility of results