Epidemiology and Estimated Cost of Brachial Plexus Surgeries Performed through the Unified Health System in Brazil (2008­2016)

Introduction The brachial plexus is responsible for the innervation of the upper extremity of the body. About 10 to 20% of the peripheral nerve lesions are brachial plexus lesions. Objective To describe the epidemiology of the brachial plexus microsurgery with exploration and neurolysis (BPMEN) and the brachial plexus microsurgery with nerve graft (BPMNG) performed through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, in the Portuguese acronym) from 2008 to 2016. Methodology A descriptive epidemiological study whose data were obtained from the Department of Informatics of the SUS (Datasus, in the Portuguese acronym). The study consisted of all patients submitted to BPMEN (code: 0403020034) and to BPMNG (code: 0403020042). Result/Discussion A total of 5,295 procedures were performed with an annual incidence of 2.94/1 million inhabitants. The hospital expenses of these 2 codes totaled R$ 4,492,603.88 (US$ 1,417,225.10). The BPMNG code presented an annual average of expenses with professional services of R$ 99,732.20 (US$ 31,461.26), and total expenses of R$ 897,589.83 (US$ 283,151.36). The amount transferred to the physician in this code in 2008 was R$ 294.56 (US$ 92.92), and currently it is R$ 441.84 (US$ 139.38). The BPMEN code presented an annual average of expenses of R$ 68,579.15 (US$ 21,633.80), with total expenses of R$ 617,212.40 (US$ 194,704.22). The amount transferred to the physician in this code in 2008 was R$ 153.44 (US$ 48.40), and currently it is R$ 230.16 (US$72.60). Both codes presented a lag in the transfer values to the physician that ranged from 16.55 to 17.64% when using the Brazilian national price index for the general consumer (IPCA, in the Portuguese acronym) as an inflation parameter during the period studied. The mean number of hospitalization days for these 2 codes was 3.79. Conclusion The absence of deaths and the low rate of hospital stay confirm that the procedure is safe, with a low morbimortality rate. Both codes presented a lag in the transfer values to the physician at the end of the period.

Epidemiology and Estimated Cost of Microsurgical Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Tumor Conducted by the Brazilian Unified Health Care System (2008­2016)

Introduction Primary nerve tumors correspond to 5% of the soft tissue neoplasms affecting the upper limbs, with benign lesions being more frequent than malignant lesions. Objective To describe the epidemiological data of the microsurgical treatment of peripheral nerve tumors performed by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS, in the Portuguese acronym), with the code 0403020131, from 2008 to 2016, regarding the number of annual procedures, hospital and professional expenses, the average duration of hospital stay, and the number of deaths. Methods This is a descriptive epidemiological study whose data were obtained by consulting the database provided by the Health Informatics Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Health (DATASUS, in the Portuguese acronym). Results/Discussion A total of 6,012 procedures were performed during the period studied, with an average of 688 procedures per year. The average hospital stay was of 2.13 days. There was nomortality rate. The average annual cost of the professional was BRL 50,091.45; and the average hospital expenses were BRL111,887.94. Conclusion The microsurgical treatment of peripheral nerve tumors is a safe surgical procedure with zero mortality rate and short hospital stay. There was no national data on tumors of this nature in the medical literature.