A three-year overview of the pattern and outcome of medical conditions in the medical wards of Federal Medical Centre

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Hospital admissions reflect the pattern of illnesses in society, and itsdocumentation in various localities may provide clues on decision-making and implementationsin the health sector. This study aimed to ascertain the reasons for admission and outcome in themedical wards of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Nigeria.METHODS: The medical records of all patients admitted into the medical wards during thestudy were retrospectively reviewed. Disease classification was done according to the ICD-10classification system. Relevant data were obtained from the admission and discharge registersand were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version- 22.RESULTS: A total of 1,782 subjects comprising 933 males (52.4%) and 849 females (47.6%) wererepresented in the final data analysis. The majority of the admitted patients were in their 6th and7th decade of life (18.5% and 18.6%, respectively). Cardiovascular diseases were the commonestindication for annual medical admission, with a cumulative frequency of 35.5%. Stroke andheart failure were the most common cardiovascular diseases. Infectious diseases were thesecond leading cause of medical admission (19.5%). The least common medical disorders wererheumatological dermatological and toxicological conditions representing 0.5%, 0.2%, and 0.2%,respectively, of all medical admissions. The overall mortality during the study period is 16.5%,with malignant diseases being the leading cause of death.CONCLUSION: This study reflects the epidemics of non-communicable diseases in developingcountries and the need for policymakers to be aware of this trend without neglecting to preventinfectious diseases, whose burden is still high.