An Evaluation of 605 Endoscopic Examination in a Rural Setting, Lacor Hospital in Northern Uganda

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of esophagogastroduodenal (EGDS) diseases diagnosed by upper endoscopy in a rural area of Uganda in a retro-protective study of 605 patients. Results: The mean age of patients with digestive symptoms was 39.7yrs (SD +/-16.11) and female gender predominated by 60% compared to the male (P value 0.000). Peasant farmers were the commonest group with GI symptoms requiring EGDS compared to the rest 72.1% v 27.9%. Epigastric pain was the commonest indication (58%) for EGDS, followed by chest pain (11%), abdominal pain (8.8%), dyspahgia (7.6%) and hematemesis (7.3%). The commonest endoscopy finding was gastritis (47.9%) followed by esophagitis (14.4%), cancer esophagus (5.1%), esophageal varicose (4%), PUD (2.3%), gastric cancer (1%). However 19.5% of patients had normal EGDS. There was a significant correlation between the outpatient diagnosis and Original Research Article

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings in Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Eastern Uganda: a 10-year retrospective analysis

“…This study describes the lowest proportion of normal procedures for any study of its kind. A third of endoscopies in our study diagnosed OC – more than double the proportion seen elsewhere 7 , 16 , 17 , 19 . This data represents the highest number of histologically proven OC in any study from Uganda - with 151 cases.…”

“…Despite catchment areas being comparable, the average number of cases performed per month was fewer in Mbale (8 per month) than other centres in Uganda - such as Mulago (18 per month 7 ) and Lacor (86 per month 17 ). This suggests that endoscopy is a more limited resource in Eastern Uganda and thus patients are likely to present further into an illness and have a higher likelihood of significant pathology.…”

“…Nonetheless these results show a comparable male to female ratio to other similar studies performed in East Africa. However, we encountered an older cohort of patients with more significant pathology 7 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 19 . This may be related to delays in accessing services, patient referral systems and population characteristics in this part of Uganda.…”

“…In Uganda there is a paucity of data on endoscopy findings 15 . Publications have so far been limited to results from the other three regions of Uganda - Central (Mulago, Kampala) 2 , Western (Mbarara) 16 and Northern Uganda (Lacor) 17 .…”

A 10 years trend of peptic ulcer disease and other gastrointestinal disorders in northern Uganda

“…On the other hand, cancer of the esophagus have exhibited an increase in its prevalence, from 3.2% to 5.1%, in the last 10 years (2005 and 2015); while esophagitis remained stable between the two study periods. 10 . Furthermore, the return of peace in our society led to re-opening of many health facilities hence improving access and patients only came for endoscopy after several symptomatic and empirical treatment.…”