Surgical audit: A process of self-evaluation for better future.

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the pattern of thoracic surgical diseases at a tertiary care hospital in South-Punjab Pakistan. Study Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Setting: Nishtar Medical University hospital Multan, Pakistan. Period: From 01-01-2018 to 31-12-2018. Material & Methods: All the patients who were admitted through the out-patient department or referred from other units, over the year 2018, were analyzed. Variables under consideration included mode of admission, patient’s diagnosis, a surgical procedure performed, type of anesthesia-induced and the mortality. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20. Mean and percentages were used for numerical data. Data were presented using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 634 patients (370 females and 264 males) were admitted during the study period, out of which 566 came through the out-patient department while the remaining were referrals from other wards. In total, 697 surgeries were performed with esophagoscopy and dilation being the most frequent (38.7%), followed by tracheostomy (16.3%). Corrosive intake (49.8%) accounted as the cause for the highest number of admissions followed by empyema thoracis (11.4%). Conclusion: Local study on the topic of Thoracic Surgery audit, in terms of surgeries performed and variation of cases presented has become an absolute necessity for better health care planning of Pakistan. The pattern of thoracic surgical diseases varies considerably in different regions and populations. The evaluation of these disease patterns can help to adopt appropriate preventive measures to reduce the incidence of these diseases. Furthermore, it can significantly improve our health system.