Abstract

MAVHUNGU, R  and  VAN AS, A B (Sebastian). An audit of emergency admissions to the adult general surgery department at Pietersburg Hospital, Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa, during an 8-month period in 2021. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2022, vol.112, n.11b, pp.888-891. ISSN 2078-5135.  https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2022.v112i11b.16819.

BACKGROUND. Emergency general surgery represents illnesses of very diverse pathology, related only by their urgent nature. The burden of general surgery emergency admissions at Pietersburg Hospital in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa, is currently unknown. OBJECTIVES. To describe the demographic characteristics and clinical presentation of general surgical patients admitted to Pietersburg Hospital, as well as their surgical management, in order to plan future resource allocation. METHODS. This was a retrospective descriptive audit of patients admitted to the adult general surgery department over the 8-month period April - November 2021. RESULTS. A total of 893 surgical emergency patients treated during the study period were included in the analysis. Of these, 357 were trauma and 536 non-trauma emergency cases. The majority of the patients (61%) were managed non-operatively. Of the 39% who required surgical management, only 24% had their operation performed within the first 24 hours, with the remainder only operated on after a delay owing to unavailability of space in theatre and/or unavailability of an intensive care unit (ICU) bed. CONCLUSION. The lack of a dedicated surgical emergency theatre and the shortage of ICU beds are burning issues at Pietersburg Hospital and should be addressed as a matter of the greatest urgency.

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