Spectrum of General Surgery Disease Conditions at The Rivers State University Teaching: A Six-Year Study

Abstract

Background: Surgical diseases are significant contributors to global burden of disease. Although surgical services at this institution have long been provided, the pattern of surgical diseases has not been well documented. This study therefore is an attempt to provide evidence of the spectrum of general surgical diseases seen in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the Surgery Department with the accident & emergency department, surgical outpatient clinics, and operating theatre as study sites. Data on total population of general surgery cases found in the registers from 2016 to 2021 was collated, tabulated and the mean values were analysed using the Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and SPSS version 23. Results: There were a total of 1618 (24.3%) benign breast diseases, 1507 (22.6%) inguinal hernias, 1154 (17.3%) malignant breast diseases seen in the clinics. Only 58 (0.9%) malignant goiters, 215 (3.2%) other goiters, 107 (1.5%) femoral hernias, and 590 (8.9%) other hernias were seen. There were 1666 emergency general surgical conditions seen within the six-year study period, out of which 1019 (61.2%) were acute abdominal conditions, and 513 (30.8%) were trauma-related injuries. Two thousand three hundred and seven (2307) general surgical procedures were performed, out of which 659 (28.6%) were traumarelated conditions, and 235 (10.2%) were specifically gunshot injuries. Conclusion: Breast diseases and hernias were the most commonly seen in clinics, while acute abdominal conditions and traumarelated injuries were the most prevalent emergency general surgical conditions in our practice.