Medical Admissions and Outcomes at Saint Paul’s Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a retrospective study

Background : Globally, trends of medical admission have been changing. This study was carried out to assess the current trend of medical admissions and outcomes in Ethiopia. Methods : Retrospective review of 840 records of patients admitted to medical ward of Saint Paul hospital during April 1, 2012-March 31, 2013 was done. Ethical approval was obtained from the IRB of the hospital. Data on demographic profiles, reasons for admission, final diagnosis, length of hospital stay and treatment outcomes were recorded by physicians on structured format developed for this purpose. The data were entered & analysed using SPSS software version 20. Results : Most of the patients were from Addis Ababa. The mean age of patients was 40.9±17.7 years, 470 (56%) of the patients were females and 71% were married. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contributed to 51.1% of admissions. Communicable diseases were dominant diagnosis for those groups in 35-44 years of age while noncommunicable diseases were dominant diagnosis for those 45-54 years of age and above. The three most common reasons for immediate admission to the hospital were pneumonia 188 (22.4%), tuberculosis 177 (21.1%) and heart failure 134 (16.0%). And the major diagnoses for underlying illnesses during admissions were found to be AIDS 177 (21.1%), hypertension 102 (12.1%), diabetes mellitus 102 (12.1%), atherosclerotic cardio vascular disorders 86 (10.2%), gastrointestinal disorders 56 (6.7%), valvular heart diseases 51 (6.1%), and renal failure 46 (5.5%). Mean duration of stay in medical wards was 12.3 (+/-10) days and it is comparable for communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases. Two third of the medical admissions (66.4%) were discharged improved while mortality was close to one fourth (24.2%). Communicable diseases contributed to two thirds of the mortality (15.6%). Conclusion : Non-communicable diseases were the major cause of admission to the hospital while communicable diseases contributed to two thirds of the overall mortality predominantly among the younger patients. Health professionals, policy-makers and health planners should recognize the higher morbidity and hospital burden from non-communicable diseases and the higher mortality from communicable diseases.  Key words : Medical admission, communicable and non-communicable, morbidity, mortality, Ethiopia