Morbidity and causes of death in patients admitted to the University clinic of hepato-gastroenterology of the CNHU-HKM of Cotonou in Benin from 2015 to 2019

Introduction: Knowledge of morbidity and mortality in a population helps to improve health care. The aim of this study was to describe morbidity and mortality in a hepato-gastroenterology department in Benin. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection conducted from January 2015 to December 2019. We included the records of all patients admitted during the study period to the hepato-gastroenterology university clinic of the National University Hospital Center of Cotonou. Results: Of the 2420 patients received, 1505 were followed up on an outpatient basis and 915 were hospitalised. The patients were mainly male (sex ratio: 1.3), with an average age of 44 ± 0.7 years (extremes of 9 and 90 years). Patients were mainly being treated for viral hepatitis B (29.2%) or gastroraphy (17.9%). The crude outpatient mortality rate was 10.8% over 5 years. Inpatients were male (sex ratio: 2.4), with an average age of 50 ± 1.0 years (extremes of 17 and 89 years). They were hospitalised mainly for liver cirrhosis (43.5%) and/or primary liver cancer (34%). The average length of hospital stay was 9.1 ±0.5 days, with extremes of 1 day and 85 days. Male gender, age over 50, alcohol consumption, smoking and hepatitis B and/or C were the factors associated with the occurrence of these pathologies. The crude mortality rate of hospitalized patients was 51.4% over a 5-year period. The main causes of death were liver cancer (36.9%), cirrhosis (34.2%) and colorectal cancer (07.4%). Digestive cancers were the most lethal, led by oesophageal cancer (70%), followed by pancreatic cancer (69.1%) and secondary liver cancer (67%). Conclusion: Digestive pathology was dominated by chronic liver disease and digestive cancer. Overall mortality was high among hospitalised patients, at 51.4%. Digestive cancers were the most lethal.