[Evaluation of data on mortality and live births in Pernambuco State, Brazil]

The Brazilian Ministry of Health has made important investments to improve the quality of information systems on mortality and live births. However, in most Brazilian States the infant mortality rate is still estimated by indirect methods, thus overlooking the progress in this area. The current article aimed to evaluate the adequacy of mortality and live birth data using indicators of coverage and regularity for both systems. Analysis of temporal trends in infant mortality coverage estimated by indirect methods revealed major inconsistencies in the temporal series. The adequacy indicators showed an important improvement in the coverage and regularity of vital information systems. The proportion of deaths from ill-defined causes also decreased, although at a slower rate. The improvement in recording of live births and deaths in the State of Pernambuco highlights the importance of reflecting on the use of direct methods to calculate infant mortality, at least in municipalities with adequate vital statistics.