Emergency Ear, Nose and Throat Admissions in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Background: Ear, nose and throat (ENT) emergencies are common in the north of Ghana; however, there are no published reports. We conducted a retrospective study of ENT emergencies at the ENT Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH).
Methods: This was a four-year review of patients admitted for emergency care at the ENT Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital between January 2013 and December 2016. Analyzed parameters included age, sex, diagnosis and outcome of treatment.
Results: A total of 390 patients were admitted for ENT emergency treatment during this period. Thirty-eight patients were excluded on account of incomplete information with 352 patients included in the final analysis. The sex distributions of patients were 209 males and 143 females with a male to female ratio of 1.46:1. The age range was 6 months to 81 years with a mean age of 27.2 ± 21.2 (median age of 25.5) years. Peak age incidence was in 0-10 age group. The most common indications for ENT emergency admissions were maxillofacial injuries (22.7%), foreign body ingestion (17.9%), deep neck (multi-)space abscesses (14.5%) and upper airway obstruction (8.2%). Fifteen patients (4.7%) admitted for emergency care died.
Conclusion: The most common indications for ENT emergency admissions from our study were throat related conditions and maxillofacial injuries that were treated successfully in 89.4% cases.