Study of orthopedic morbidities among outdoor patients in a medical college in District Ambedkarnagar, India.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Congenital bone diseases, nutritional disorders like rickets, infective or metabolic conditions and trauma of bones and joints are most common orthopedic problems encountered among outdoor patients. This study was conducted to find out the prevalence of different orthopedic morbidities amongst outdoor patients of the Department of Orthopedics, Government Medical College, and District Ambedkarnagar. Material and Methods: These six months, observational, outdoor department study was carried out in Department of Orthopedics, Government Medical College, Ambedkarnagar, India. A total of 1000 individuals gave their consent and participated in the study. A structured, pretested schedule was used to collect the data on the demographic characteristics (age, gender, religion) and orthopedic problems. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A higher proportion of the outdoor patients was aged between 16-60 years (82.6%) and was females (50.1%). A higher percentage of orthopedic problems encountered were regional conditions of limbs (23.7%), followed by traumatic (23.0%) and degenerative (22.7%).Traumatic causes and neuromuscular disorders were more common among the males while degenerative, regional and rheumatic conditions were more common among the females. Conclusion: Larger nationwide community based studies are required to know the extent of the orthopedic problems and formulate better health policies.