Pattern and outcome of medical admissions at the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu--a three year review

This is a three-year retrospective study of the pattern and outcome of acute medical admissions at the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu. Our findings showed that there were 1,938 admissions over the study period of which 1,044 (54%) were females and 894 (46%) were males. The ages of the patients ranged between 12 to 86 years with a mean of 49 +/- 1.7 years. The age range was 14 to 80 years for males with a mean of 47 +/- 6.1 years and 12 to 86 years for females with a mean of 49 +/- 4.5 years. The length of stay was between 5 to 25 days with a mean of 15 +/- 0.5 days. There were 16 patients per bed per year with a turn around of 8 days and bed occupancy of 65% 194 (10%) patients discharged themselves against medical advice and there were 488 (25%) deaths. The interval between admission and death ranged between 4 to 7 days with a mean of 5.5 +/- 0.07 days. Indications for admissions were infectious diseases (38%), neurological disorders (19.6%) gastro-intestinal disorders (11%), genito-urinary tract disorders (10.2%) endocrine disorder (10%), cardiovascular disorders (9.9%), respiratory disorders (6.4%) and haematological disorders (4.9%). Tuberculosis accounted for 10% of total medical admissions and was the commonest disease entity responsible for medical admissions. Acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS) constituted 1.8% of medical admissions. Mortality was highest for infections accounting for 32% of deaths while malaria accounted for the lowest. The reasons for the relative frequency and mortality are adduced. The study recommends improvement of preventive strategies towards communicable diseases in the community and encourages better admission policy, provision of appropriate facilities and manpower to improve the hospital services.