Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Hospital Discharges due to Congenital Malformations in Argentina

Abstract

Background: Hospital discharges (HD) provide population data that can be used to define specific epidemiological profiles. Objectives: To quantify the prevalence of CM among all hospital discharges and its spatiotemporal patterns across Argentina. Furthermore, the study will benchmark these estimates against RENAC to contextualize agreement and discrepancies. Methods: HD data (2005–2020) from the National Ministry of Health were analyzed at national, regional, and provincial levels. We estimated the proportion of HD due to CM (HDCM; ICD-10 Q00–Q99) overall and by age (<1 year, 1–5 years, >5 years). For infants <1 year, CM prevalence per 100 live births (LB) was computed and compared with RENAC. Temporal trends were assessed with Joinpoint regression. Results: HDCM represented 0.71% of all HD; 63.4% occurred in children ≥1 year, indicating substantial CM-related care beyond infancy. Spatial differences were directionally consistent across sources: nationally and in the Center, RENAC estimates were higher than HDCM; Cuyo showed higher HDCM throughout; NWA shifted to higher HDCM from mid-decade; NEA/Patagonia displayed small gaps with occasional crossovers. Temporally, Joinpoint analyses revealed heterogeneous regional trends without a common timing of inflections: HDCM increased in NWA, the gap widened in Cuyo toward the late decade, while national and Center trajectories were relatively stable; RENAC series remained more tightly clustered around the national pattern. In infants <1 year, structural cardiac malformations were the leading HD diagnoses. Conclusion: HD-based metrics and RENAC provide complementary views of the CM burden; their systematic divergence with regional heterogeneity indicates that HD can robustly contextualize spatiotemporal differences where birth-surveillance alone is insufficient.