Assessment of Presentations and Medication Management of Health Conditions at the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Hospital in Bayelsa State, Nigeria
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Abstract
Dearth of information on presentations and treatment of health conditions at various Accident and Emergency Departments (AEDs) in Bayelsa State necessitated this study. It assessed pattern of presentation of health conditions and their medication management at the AED of Federal Medical Centre at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Case notes of 423 patients who presented at the AED of the health facility from January 01 to June 30, 2018 were purposively assessed retrospectively. Pertinent information which included patients? socio-demographics, main and concurrent health conditions presented, duration of stay at the AED, and medication prescribed were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. They were expressed in simple percentages, while average values were presented in mean ± standard deviation. Of all case notes assessed, 225 (53.2%) were for males; 256 (60.5%), 119 (28.2%), and 48 (11.3%) were for young adults, children, and the elderlies, respectively. Average patient?s age was 26.03 ± 19.37 years, and each presented with an average of 1.69 ± 0.94 health conditions per encounter. Meanwhile, almost all of the patients (97.2%) were discharged or referred within a day of presentation at the AED. Average of 3.16 ± 1.92 drugs were prescribed per encounter for the health conditions managed, of which 100 (23.3%), 97 (22.6%), and 88 (20.5%) patients were treated for injuries, infections, and gastrointestinal disorders, respectively among others. In all, analgesics (30.7%), antimalarials (23.9%), and antibiotics (22.8%) were the most encountered of all drugs prescribed. More males than females were seen within the study period and most were young adults. Each presented with average of 2 health conditions and were discharged/referred within a day with each receiving at least 3 drugs per encounter. Injuries were the most treated conditions and analgesics were the most prescribed drugs.
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