Mortality audit of medical patients at armed forces hospitals

The mortality statistics of the medical patients at our tertiary care hospitals are sparse and lacking. We studied the mortality characteristics of the patients admitted to medical wards and intensive care unit at two hospitals based on the available fatal documents. Our objectives include analysis of the cause of death, duration of stay and presence of sepsis. The deceased (103 males, 47 females) had a mean age of 64.6 ± 15.5 yrs and mean duration of stay 7.1 ± 12.3 days. Infections and sepsis syndrome (33%), respiratory (17%), neurological (15%) and cardiovascular disorders (10%) were the top four causes of the mortality. Comorbid ailments were present in 71% of the deceased and the ventilator was used in 39% of them prior to the death. Age of the patients did not show any correlation with the duration of hospital stay (P = 0.8322). Infections and sepsis syndrome are the major reasons of death in medical patients. Mortality audit helps in identifying the prevalent causes of death in the hospital.