Hernia repair in Brazil's public health system: inpatient production, temporal trends and regional differences, 2014–2025

Authors

  • Julia Tavares Kirsten Nicola Gadbem
  • , Cleonice Ribas Machado
  • Gustavo Coelho Tafuri Mota
  • Igor Rabelo Silveira
  • Pedro Henrique Silveira Carvalho

Keywords:

Hernia, Inguinal, Herniorrhaphy, Hospitalization, Unified Health System, Epidemiology

Abstract

Objective: To describe inpatient hernia repair production within Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS) from 2014 to 2025, analysing temporal trends, regional distribution, procedure type, admission category, sex, age group, and SUS reimbursement transfers. Methods: Ecological, retrospective, descriptive-analytical study using secondary data from the Hospital Information System (SIH-SUS), retrieved via the microdatasus package in R. Admissions were identified by SIGTAP procedure codes within group 0407040000. Temporal trend analysis used Prais-Winsten regression for 2014–2024, excluding 2020–2021, which were structurally disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are reported descriptively only. Nominal values were deflated to 2024 BRL using the IPCA consumer price index. Data from 2025 are incomplete and included descriptively only. Results: A total of 2,739,811 admissions and 4,437 in-hospital deaths were recorded over 2014–2024. Males accounted for 68.3% of admissions; the male-to-female ratio rose from 2.02:1 in 2014 to 2.29:1 in 2024. Unilateral inguinal/femoral hernioplasty was the most common procedure (46.4% in 2024). Prais-Winsten regression identified a statistically significant upward trend in absolute admissions (β = 15,207.6/year; p < 0.05). The population-adjusted rate did not reach significance after autocorrelation correction (β = 6.74; p = 0.057). The in-hospital mortality rate remained below 0.17% in most years, peaking in 2020–2021. Conclusions: Hernia repair constituted a substantial share of elective surgical output in the SUS, with growing absolute volume after the pandemic. Regional differences in hospital production should be interpreted in light of installed capacity, SUS dependency, and local health system organisation, and do not support direct inferences about individual access.

References

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Published

2026-06-10

How to Cite

Gadbem, J. T. K. N., Machado, , C. R., Mota, G. C. T., Silveira, I. R., & Carvalho, P. H. S. (2026). Hernia repair in Brazil’s public health system: inpatient production, temporal trends and regional differences, 2014–2025. Revista De Divulgação Científica Sena Aires, 15(2), 191–201. Retrieved from https://rdcsa.emnuvens.com.br/revista/article/view/1239

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026): REVISA

Section

Original Paper

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Copyright (c) 2026 Revista de Divulgação Científica Sena Aires

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