Mortality statistics as indicators of quality of hospital care

Death rates have always been important information for hospitals to provide a solid base for the evaluation of the quality of their medical care. This study was carried out to find out the gross death rate [GDR] as well as net death rate [NDR] in King Fahad hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA] in the period from 1994-2000 and also to find out demographic characteristics of deaths in the year 2000 according to ICD-10 as indicators of quality of hospital care. Medical records of discharged patients including deaths during the year 2000 were reviewed [13386]. Complete data about deaths were obtained. Results of the studied hospital showed gradual decrease in GDR from 5.8% to 4.5% [1994-1998] then slight increase from 4.9%to 5.0% [1999-2000] but still below the year 1994 [5.8%] and also there is gradual decrease in NDR from 4.6% to 3.6% in the studied period. GDR in different departments of the hospital during the year 2000 showed that Medical ICU was the highest [24.5%] followed by Surgical ICU [17.9%] followed by Cardiac ICU [14.3%] while GDR in the Medical department was found to be [12.9%] of the discharged subjects. According to nationality; proportional mortality rate [PMR] of Saudis represented 62% of total deaths followed by Yemenis [8.2%] meanwhile Egyptians represented 3.7% of total deaths in the studied year. As concerned to age groups; the highest PMR was found among those aged 65-74 years [21.9%] while the lowest PMR was found among those aged 13-24 years [4.2%]. The highest PMR of deaths during the studied year was reported in March [10.4%] followed by April [9.7%] then February [9.4%] which are the months of pilgrimage season while the lowest frequency was found in December [6.9%]. Also PMR was found to be higher among females [57%] compared to males [43%]. According to International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10]; diseases of the circulatory system were found to be the commonest underlying cause of death in the studied year. It represented 35.5% of all deaths followed by neoplasms [11.2%] while the lowest cause reported was mental and behavioral disorders [0.1%]. In conclusion, combination of the previous indicators and comparing the results with other hospitals in different countries indicates good quality of medical care in the studied hospital

Infectious diseases among food handlers

This study was carried out to find the prevalence and associated factors of communicable diseases especially parasitic infections among food handlers in King Fahd Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for early detection and proper management. This study was conducted as a preemployment examination on 52 new kitchen male workers with a mean age of 26.77 +/- 5.03 years. They were subjected to complete medical examination as well as some general and specific laboratory investigations as a food handler. Results of throat swab showed that 12% of the studied group were positive for group A beta haemolytic streptococci. Parasitological examination showed that seven subjects [13.5%] were infected. Out of them 3 only had single parasitic infections and 4 had double infections. Trichuris trichiura was the most common infection in the studied group. Continuous follow up and health education of food handlers have led to avoidance of outbreaks of infections among food consumers in the hospital