Surgical intervention for intestinal typhoid perforation.

AIM: Typhoid perforation is the most fatal complication of typhoid fever in developing countries and is most often caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi. There are conflicting views as to which type of surgical intervention gives the best outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality associated with the different types of surgical interventions employed in patients with typhoid perforation. METHOD: This was a retrospective review of the medical records of adult and paediatric surgical patients treated in the general and paediatric surgical units of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Information was obtained from medical records at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana, between January 2009 and April 2012. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 and 22. RESULTS: 133 patients (median age of 21 years, 72.2% males) with typhoid perforation were included in the study. The typhoid perforation specific mortality rate was 12.8%. Males had a significantly lower mortality rate (7.3%) compared to females (27%). Simple bowel closure (85.7% of total) was the most common surgical intervention performed and patients operated upon with this method had a significantly lower mortality rate (9.6%) compared to patients with bowel resection (31.6%). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, patients treated with intestinal resection were more likely to die from typhoid perforation and female gender was a risk factor for death. Simple bowel closure was the predominant surgical procedure.

An audit of the informed consent process at the surgical department of Korle Bu teaching hospital, Accra

Background: Surgeons carry out procedures on patients daily, many of which are invasive and may be associated with some risks and complications. The concept of informed consent in surgical practice was introduced after certain legal issues arose. Today patients are entitled to know and be accorded the right to determine what happens to their bodies. This study set out to determine if there had been any improvement in the informed consent process over the years, taking a closer look at the various aspects of the information given :This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the Department of Surgery, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. One hundred consecutive post-operative patients were recruited and interviewed on information discussed at various stages during the preoperative period and on the administration of the consent form. Results: Thirty seven (66.0%) out of 56 elective cases felt they had been given enough information to their understanding to enable them give informed consent. Thirty (68.1%) out of 44 emergencies also felt they had been given enough information. Forty (71.4%) of elective cases were able tell what their diagnosis was but only 23 (41.0%) knew what procedure had been done. Similarly 32 (72.2%) emergency cases were able to tell what their diagnosis was but only 16 (36.3%) knew what procedure had been done. Conclusion: Informed consent in the Department of Surgery of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is unsatisfactory and needs to be improved

Comparison of endoscopic based diagnosis with Helicobacter urease test for Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is an important risk factor for gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. The prevalence in developed countries is lower than 40 % but higher than 80 % in some developing countries. It is 75 % in Ghana. The Helicobacter urease test (HUT) is performed at endoscopy and gives an accurate diagnosis. The HUT is not routinely done at our facility and presumption of H. pylori is made based on endoscopic findings and H. pylori eradication prescribed, as the incidence in the general population is presumed high. Is this endoscopic diagnosis sufficient for diagnosing and treating H. pylori? We aimed to assess the feasibility of an endoscopic based H. pylori diagnosis and its accuracy using a HUT as the gold standard in consecutive patients. METHODS: Seventy-six consecutive adult patients with dyspepsia were assessed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. A clinical diagnosis of H. pylori or not was made. Biopsy samples were collected for HUT. H. pylori was diagnosed if HUT was positive. The results were then compared. RESULTS: Median age of patients was 45.0 years. H. pylori prevalence detected by HUT was 51.3 % (95 % CI 40.0-63.0). Sensitivity of endoscopic diagnosis of H. pylori was 71.8 % (95 % CI 55.1-85.0) and specificity was 37.8 % (95 % CI 22.5-55.2). There was no association between clinical findings (73.7 %) and HUT (26.3 %) (OR = 0.80; [95 % CI 0.24-2.64], p = 0.682). There was also no association between endoscopic diagnosis (71.8 %) and HUT (28.2 %), (OR = 1.55; 95 % CI 0.59-4.06, p = 0.373). CONCLUSION: Helicobacter pylori infection was not as high as that published in earlier reports. The endoscopic diagnosis alone is not sufficient to make a diagnosis of H. pylori.