Mortality among orthopaedic and traumatology admissions: a ten year review

Mortality in orthopaedic patients is not a common event. This study sets out to review the incidence and causes of mortality in orthopaedic and trauma admissions in a tertiary centre in a developing country.

Medical records of patients admitted to the Orthopaedic wards of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife over a ten year period (January 1999-December 2008) were retrospectively reviewed. The death certificates and postmortem examination findings were used in conjunction with the medical records to arrive at the possible cause of death in the deceased patients. Frequency analysis was done using SPSS version 13.

Over this period, 2418 patients were admitted for orthopaedic and trauma with 84 deaths giving an overrall crude mortality rate of 3.47% (1.27% for paediatrics and 4.39% for the adults). Fourty nine patients (58.4%) died from trauma (fracture) related diagnoses followed by tumour (21, 25%) and infection (14,16.7%). Males were more affected 73.8% and the average age at death was 45.7years. Co-morbid conditions were found in 393% of the deceased patients.

Trauma related deaths were the leading cause of mortality in our ward admissions and male patients at the prime of their lives were more often involved. Accident prevention and provision of facilities for appropriate management of trauma victims will help reduce substantially these untimely deaths in our world. The high incidence of co-morbid conditions emphasizes the role of multidisciplinary care in orthopaedic and trauma patients.