Mortality pattern in the surgical wards: a five year review at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Nigeria.

Objective: To identify deaths in the surgical wards, elicit the cause of death and suggest changes that will ensure improved surgical care of patients and outcome.

Study Design: Retrospective.

Methods: Records collected from the theatre operation registers, ward registers and case notes of all patients who were admitted into the surgical wards Federal Medical Centre, Owerri whether elective or emergency from January 1997 to December 2001 were reviewed. Data extracted included date of admission, age, sex, educational status, residence; surgical diagnosis and clinical cause of death Data obtained were analyzed and presented in tabular and descriptive forms.

Results: There were 4583 surgical admissions in all the surgical wards of which males were 2751 and females 1832. During this period there were 419 deaths with an overall death per admission crude mortality rate of 9.14%. The leading causes of death were acute abdomen (22.20%), RTA with head injury (18.14%) and malignances (14.56%). Of the 419 deaths males were 305 (72.79%) and females 114 (27.21%) in a ratio of 2.68:1.

Conclusion: Aggressive enlightenment and healthcare campaigns, health education, improvement of healthcare facilities and accessibility to healthcare facilities are highlighted. Structured study in the management of surgical cases is emphasized.