An analysis of referrals to a level 3 intensive care unit in a resource-limited setting in South Africa.

Background: With a shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and rising healthcare costs in resource-limited settings, clinicians need to appropriately triage admissions into ICU to avoid wasteful expenditure and unnecessary bed utilisation.

Objectives: To assess the nature, appropriateness and outcome of referrals to a tertiary centre ICU.

Methods: A retrospective review of ICU consults from September 2016 to February 2017 at King Edward VIII Hospital was performed.

Intracapsular tonsillectomy versus extracapsular tonsillectomy: a safety comparison.

Objective: Post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage remains a significant complication despite modifications of technique and instrumentation. Intracapsular tonsillectomy spares the capsule as a protective barrier for underlying blood vessels and musculature. Its efficacy in children with sleep-disordered breathing has been established, along with lowered rates of haemorrhage and pain, but research pertaining to adults and for recurrent infections has been limited.

Comparative outcome analysis of trauma and non-trauma emergency laparotomy using a modified NELA tool format.

Background: Emergency laparotomy (EL) encompasses a diverse range of procedures that general surgeons commonly perform for both trauma and non-trauma related conditions in South Africa (SA). Despite differences in the underlying pathology and influence of the surgical procedure, these patients share one care pathway for preoperative, operative and postoperative care. This study reviewed patients undergoing trauma EL and non-trauma EL in a general surgery setting at a rural KwaZulu-Natal tertiary hospital to compare results between the groups using a modified National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) tool format.

Orthopaedic Surgeon Density in South Africa.

Background: In the era of global surgery, there are limited data regarding the available surgical workforce in South Africa.

Methods: This aim of this study was to determine the orthopaedic surgeon density in South Africa. This involved a quantitative descriptive analysis of all registered specialist orthopaedic surgeons in South Africa, using data collected from various professional societal national databases.