Adult Respiratory Disease Patterns Seen at The Adult Emergency Unit of a Tertiary Health Facility in South Eastern Nigeria - A Five-Year Review

Abstract

Background: Respiratory illnesses remain a significant contributor to disease burden worldwide, accounting for up to 10% of deaths and DALYs. This study aimed at assessing the pattern of respiratory diseases seen among adults in an emergency room (ER), their mortality within twenty-four hours in a health facility in Nigeria and the health seeking behaviour of a south-eastern Nigerian community.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective study on adult patients that presented with respiratory conditions from July 2012 to June 2016 at the emergency room of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi in South Eastern, Nigeria.

Results: A total of 5888 medical cases were seen, of which 131 were respiratory cases accounting for 2.2 % of the total ER visitations. The male to female patient ratio was 1.62:1 and their mean age was 50.19 ± 19.56 years. The median duration of symptoms from onset till presentation was 30 days. Pulmonary TB (PTB) (32.1%) was the commonest case seen in the series, followed by acute asthma (19.8%) and Pneumonia (16.0%). Twenty-four-hour mortality was 4.6% with half of the deaths attributable to TB, while pneumonia, asthma and interstitial lung disease made up the rest. Mortality was highest in the 40 - 49-year age group.

Conclusion: Pulmonary TB and acute asthma were the commonest respiratory diseases among adults leading to ER visits in this facility, with PTB accounting for most early deaths. Late presentations are still rife and present an opportunity for health education and reorientation.