Abstract:
Background
The patterns and outcomes of admissions in the hospital are a reflection of disease patterns in society; hence, the identification of these patterns is necessary for the assessment of the healthcare system and also provides scientific data for policy making and proper resource allocation into various communities. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the patterns and outcomes of admissions at the medical wards of the Ho Teaching Hospital using retrospective LHIMS data.
Method
This was a descriptive retrospective study that analyzed secondary data extracted from the LHIMS of the Ho Teaching Hospital covering a period from December 1, 2020 to May 31, 2024. Data from 5, 758 patients were analyzed using MS Excel and Stata version 18.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). Some varia age, sex, NHIS status, date of admission, date of discharge, principal diagnosis, length of stay, and outcome of admission. Data analysis involved grouping diseases according to ICD- 10 classification with further categorization into communicable and non- communicable diseases.
Results
Data was collected on 5,758 patients. The analysis revealed a slight female predominance in admissions (50.6%) with the majority of patients being 55 years and older (46.7%). NCDs accounted for 86.4% of all admissions with stroke, congestive heart failure and chronic kidney disease being the most prevalent conditions. Communicable diseases constituted 13.6% of admissions with pneumonia (6.0%) and malaria (6.0%) equally being the most common. The average length of stay was 11.5 ± 12.1 days with a significant variation compared to other studies within Ghana and worldwide. Most patients were discharged home (83.8%) while mortality rate was at 14.4%.
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Conclusion
The findings of this study underscore the need for enhanced healthcare policies targeting NCDs, promoting ongoing policies to further reduce communicable diseases, improvement in documentation and clinical practices and targeted resource allocation. The study offers valuable insights into the healthcare landscape of the Volta region of Ghana but its implications extend across this region and can serve as reference material for similar settings across Africa and the world at large.
