Emergency ear, nose and throat admissions at the korle-bu teaching hospital.

SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) emergencies are common in all communities. Early diagnosis and prompt management will result in reduction in morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the size and distribution of ENT emergencies, obtain base line data and outline preventive measures.

DESIGN

Clinical records of patients admitted for ENT emergency care at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital from 1(st) January 2000 to 31(st) December 2002 were studied with respect to sex, age, diagnosis on admission and outcome of emergency care. Exclusion criteria were admissions for terminal cancer care.

RESULTS

A total of 750 patients made up of 476 males and 274 females were admitted for emergency care. The age range was 1 month to 100 years; mean age was 25.5 years and median age was 18.23 years. The commonest causes of emergency admissions were foreign bodies in the oesophagus in 310 (41.3%) patients, epistaxis in 126 (16.7%) patients, throat infections in 118 (15.7%) patients and stridor in 61 (8.1%) patients. Twenty (2.7%) admitted emergencies died.

CONCLUSION

The commonest causes of ENT emergency admissions were foreign bodies in the oesophagus, epistaxis, throat infections and stridor.