EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF LEPROSY CARE IN PRIMARY HEALTH SERVICES, IN THE STATE OF GOIÁS, BASED ON THE CURE DISCHARGE INDICATOR FROM 2017 TO 2021

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the cure discharge rate and the quality of leprosy health services in Goiás, based on the follow-up of the Ministry of Health's cure discharge criteria. Methods: An observational and descriptive study based on data collected from SINAN (System of Notifiable Disease Information). New leprosy cases notified in Goiás from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed, and cases with operational reclassification, alternative therapeutic regimens, or inconsistent data were excluded. Results: The study evaluated 5,784 valid new cases. 88.3% of paucibacillary (PB) cases and 84.2% of multibacillary (MB) cases were discharged as cured, but only 74% of PB and 71.7% of MB followed the cure discharge criteria. Among patients considered cured, 7.4% of PB and 4.6% of MB completed the polychemotherapy (PCT) with intervals exceeding the recommended time, and 0.3% of PB and 0.9% of MB, with adequate treatment duration, received fewer supervised doses than the minimum required. Conclusions: he assessment of adherence to the cure discharge criteria led to a reduction in the cure rate, reclassifying the quality of leprosy services in Goiás from regular to poor. Failures in supervised dose administration and treatment duration were identified, attributed to inadequate care. This context highlights the need for improvements in the registration and monitoring process of leprosy treatment in the state.