INTRA-ORAL FINDINGS IN CHILDREN WITH MICROCEPHALY DUE TO INFECTION BY ZIKA VIRUS: OBSERVATIONAL CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Microcephaly, Odontology, Health surveillance, Zika Congenital syndrome
Microcephaly is defined as a developmental anomaly characterized by the reduction of the cephalic perimeter, with anatomic-functional alterations, of complex and mulifactorial etiology. Scientific evidence points to the possible association between the outbreak of microcephaly in newborns with Zika Virus infection (ZIKV). Methodology: the present study is cross-sectional, observational, aiming to evaluate oral structures in children with diagnosis of microcephaly due to congenital infection by ZIKV. Dental clinical eXams were performed in tow groups, one composed of eight children with microcephaly by ZIKV infection and the other with twenty-four chIldren who did not have congenital infections, all of them living in the V (Fifth?) Health Region of Rio Grande do Norte. The clinical and socioeconomic data were annotated in standardized charts and treated by non-parametric statistical tests from the Odds ratio in the bivariate analysis in the Fisher's Exact Test. Results: Children in group 1 presented lower cephalic perimeter, higher frequency of mixed type breathing, bruxism and had previous dental experience when compared to group 2. Conclusion: The findings present dental and socioeconomic characteristics that reinforce the need to plan and promote health actions in the care network oF children with microcephaly by ZIKV infection