Caracterización de la población pediátrica con sospecha o diagnóstico de cáncer atendida en el Hospital Universitario San José de Popayán, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the country. Hospital cancer registries provide essential information regarding the behavior of malignant neoplasms treated in health care institutions.Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients under 18 years of age diagnosed with suspicion or diagnosis of cancer, treated at the San Jose de Popayan University Hospital for four years (2013 al 2017).Methods: observational study based on routine data of cancer. All patients under 18 years of age were included. They were recruited and selected based on the summary of the hospitalization (recorded at least one diagnosis of categories C and D (Neoplasms C00 through D048) of the ICD10 manual). An instrument that included sociodemographic, clinical, and follow-up variables were applied to each record.Results: Out of 450 original files, 359 (86%) were excluded, and 56 patients were selected. The most frequent neoplasms in this population were hematologic with 42%, and the headache was the most frequent reason for consultation (23%). The majority of patients come from rural areas (68%) and have a subsidized health affiliation regime (79%). Around 82% of the patients were referred to other institutions. The majority of patients treated at the HUSJ during their last hospitalization were patients with tumors of the central nervous system.Conclusions: the pediatric population treated in the HUSJ with a diagnosis of cancer is very low, and the majority of patients are referred to other health institutions.