A 5-Year Retrospective Overview of Gastroenterology In-Patient Clinical Spectrum, Outcome and Survival Profile in a Tropical Urban Tertiary Health Facility

Background: Diseases with gastrointestinal tract involvement have continued to be a major public health concern globally and indigenously with its ballooning proportions. This study unraveled the spectrum of in-hospital medical disorders attributable to diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract and their distinctive attributes. Methods: A 5-year retrospective assessment of the clinical entries and in-hospital charts of adult medical intakes with gastrointestinal disorders was undertaken. Socio-demographic attributes, spectrum of gastrointestinal tracts disorders and outcome measures were retrieved and appraised. Statistical significance was drawn at a p-value of <0.05. Results: In all, 239 patients with diverse gastrointestinal tract affectation were admitted with male gender predominance (n=137,57.3%). Cumulative mean age of the participants was 46.3 ± 17.3 years with a higher value in females compared to males (47.9 ± 18.4yrs vs 45.1±16.3 yrs). Mean length of hospital stay was 6.33 ± 5.1 days. Hepatitis B-induced liver cirrhosis (n=77,32.2%) and gastroenteritis (n=43, 18.0%) predominated as the principal indications for admission. Crude mortality rate was 17.6% with a tilt towards the male gender (n=34,14.2%). Outcome of hospitalisation was statistically influenced by gender (p=0.006) and stratification into hepatitis/non-hepatitis related disorder (p=0.019) on regression studies. Survival on Kaplan Meier’s plots were significantly influenced by gender (p=0.001) and clinical diagnosis (p=0.025) Conclusion: Hepatitis B-induced chronic liver disease and gastroenteritis predominated as the preponderant diagnosis among gastroenterology medical in-patients. Tenacious utilization of effective preventive strategies from primary to tertiary level is expedient to curtail their spiraling prevalence.