Análise das demandas judiciais para aquisição de medicamentos no estado da Paraíba

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever os aspectos médico-científicos e sanitários dos mandados judiciais para fornecimento de medicamentos impetrados ao Tribunal de Justiça da Paraíba (TJ-PB) contra agentes públicos no estado da Paraíba. Teve caráter descritivo, transversal, e foi realizado no Tribunal de Justiça da Paraíba. Foram analisados processos de medicamentos julgados na segunda instância entre os anos de 2009 e 2010 com decisão definitiva. Quanto às evidências científicas da eficácia e segurança, os medicamentos foram avaliados por meio de revisões sistemáticas na base de dados do Centro Cochrane do Brasil. Os grupos de medicamentos solicitados com maior frequência foram os agentes neoplásicos, seguidos de insulinas e antagonistas da angiotensina II. Os custos com medicamentos antineoplásicos representaram 76% do gasto total com demandas judiciais, representando um custo aproximado de R$ 343 mil por mês. Desses, um item não tinha registro em orgão sanitário brasileiro. Os resultados apontam para um elevado número de demandas judiciais com prevalência de solicitações de medicamentos padronizados pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), dos quais os antineoplásicos obtêm destaque e reforçam a necessidade de revisão da Política Nacional de Assistência Farmacêutica tanto das estratégias de implantação como da premência em ampliar a relação de medicamentos disponibilizados pelo SUS.

Brazilian indigenous children: Review of studies about nutritional status

Objective: To systematize studies on the anthropometric nutritional status of Brazilian indigenous children in order to examine the ability to address the totality of biological, anthropological, and ecological aspects, as well as to characterize the main analytical results of the determinants of nutritional status of Brazilian indigenous children. Methods: MedLine and Lilacs were searched using the intersection of "South American Indians" and "nutritional status" descriptors (the search in MedLine also included the descriptor "Brazil"). Results: Overall, 65 studies were identified, and 23 were considered relevant to this study. The systematization of these studies highlights the concentration of studies in the midwestern and northern regions of Brazil, as well as the lack of cultural, biochemical, and food consumption approaches. Regarding nutritional status, we found: 1) greater vulnerability of younger children, especially in relation to stunting; 2) absence of differences in nutritional status according to sex; 3) socioeconomic determination of nutritional status; 4) differences in nutritional status between children from different villages. Conclusion: The nutritional status of Brazilian indigenous children is associated with age, socioeconomic status, and ethnic characteristics. Efforts are needed to understand the ethnic and cultural influence on nutritional status and on its causal network, as well as of various factors minimally discussed.

[The judicialisation of health as a means ensuring access to medicines]

OBJECTIVE

A systematic review, focusing on the judicialisation of health regarding gaining access to medicines, was aimed at understanding the impact of lawsuits on the organisation of public health services.

METHOD

Original articles published between 2007 and 2011 in the pertinent national and international literature were analysed, resulting in 49,239 articles being found in Science Direct and BIREME databases. Results The survey indicated a predominance of literature from Brazil, mainly the southeast, as well as a study from Colombia.

DISCUSSION

The aforementioned chronic disease-related claims involved diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Forming part of specific Unified Healthcare System programmes highlighted the difficulty in gaining access to the appropriate medicine and consequent health judicialisation demonstrated the fragility of existing public policy.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that the courts (despite being a strategy for ensuring access to medicine) were unable to deal with the current spate of lawsuits, thereby leading to disruption regarding the flow of public systems.