Emergency Medical Services Outcome Assessment in Lagos, Nigeria: Review of Cases of ‘’Brought in Dead‘’ Patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study sets out to establish a database of BID patients presenting at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).METHOD: A retrospective study of consecutive ‘’Brought in Dead‘’ (BID) patients seen from April to November 2011 at the surgical emergency room of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) was done using a validated questionnaire.RESULTS: A total of 144 BID patients were seen during the study period. There were 112 males or 78% and 32 females or 22% of the total (M:F=3:1). The age group with the largest number of victims was the 31-40 age groups; and there were 37 patients (30.8% of 120 cases captured under age group). Trauma also accounted for 104 patients (72.2%) with 52 (36.1%, 50% of trauma cases) of these caused by Road traffic injuries (RTI), and Gunshot injuries accounting for 21 (14.6%, 20.2% of trauma cases). Among the Trauma BID cases from RTI, 4-wheeled vehicles accounted for 20 cases (19.2%, 40% of RTI), whilst motor cycle injuries accounted for 12 cases (11.5%, 24% of RTI).CONCLUSION: The study shows that road traffic injuries and gunshot injuries, accounted for 70% of BID cases presenting at LASUTH. Majority of cases of RTI are from 4 wheeler vehicles (40%) and motorcycles (24%)

State-wide situation analysis of availability of basic resuscitation devices and essential drugs in primary and secondary healthcare facilities in Cross River State, Nigeria

“…Unfortunately, there is paucity of research aimed at better understanding of these essential components, towards improvement in availability of BLS, at least in healthcare settings. Most studies on BLS in developing country settings, focus on effects of training interventions on skill development [ 4 - 7 ].…”

“…Training of skilled personnel in basic and advanced life support must go hand in hand with the availability of these devices and drugs especially in the face of scarce financial resources [ 3 ]. Yet, though it may generally be assumed that most health care facilities in developing countries lack infrastructure for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, there is lack of published literature on the real situation of institutional deficiency [ 5 - 7 ]. Hence, this study was aimed at on-the-spot situation analysis of availability of BLS devices and essential drugs, across the entire Cross River State, in Southern Nigeria, which may be considered to be a typical developing country setting.…”