Pattern and outcome of admissions in the medical wards of a tertiary health center in a rural community of Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Abstract

To determine the pattern and outcome of medical admissions as well as the basic demographic characteristics in medical wards of a tertiary health center located in a rural area. Materials and Methods : A retrospective analysis of medical wards admissions of the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, southwest Nigeria, between January 2009 and December 2011. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS Version 16 software. The total number of patients admitted during the period was 1519, age ranged from 16 to 120 years, with a mean of 56.1 + 18.8 years. There were 823 (54.3%) males and 696 (45.7%) females in a ratio of 1.2:1.0; the highest number of age group admitted was the elderly. Disorders of the cardiovascular system topped the admission list (32.1%) in general, and noncommunicable diseases were also predominant (68.4%) on the admission list compared with communicable diseases (31.6%). The most common cause of death was cardiovascular diseases (33.0%). Male gender and elderly aged groups were predominant on admission. Noncommunicable diseases were of higher proportion on admission than communicable diseases. The most common cause of death was cardiovascular diseases of which stroke topped the list.