Research

Respiratory presentations to acute services at a tertiary hospital in South Africa

V Ngah, P Maud, N Baines, R Mistry, N Schrueder, C F N Koegelenberg, E M Irusen, K Mortimer, B Allwood

Abstract


Background. Respiratory diseases account for >10% of the global burden of disease when measured in disability-adjusted life-years. The burden of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) increases as the world’s population ages, with a much greater increase in low- to middle-income countries.

Objectives. To characterise and quantify the reasons for acute respiratory presentations to the acute care services at a tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Casualty registers and electronic record databases were reviewed to determine the diagnoses of consecutive patients attending the casualty unit from May 2019 to January 2020.

Results. A total of 1 053 individual patients presented with a primary respiratory diagnosis. Fewer than 10% of admissions were from outside the Cape Town metropole, while >60% were from the subdistrict immediately adjacent to the hospital. Of all patients, 8.3% were readmitted at least once within the 9-month study period. Six hundred and forty-three (61.1%) of the patients presented with non-CRDs. The main reasons for presentation in these patients were pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) (n=224; 21.3%), other infections including lower respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and bronchitis (n=272; 25.8%), and cancer (n=140; 13.3%). Haemoptysis was seen in 9.8% of all patients, mainly explained by post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) (37.9%) and PTB (36.9%). Of the patients, 410 (38.9%) had an underlying CRD, with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) being the most common (n=192; 18.2%), followed by PTLD (n=88; 8.5%) and asthma (n=52; 5.1%).

Conclusions. Over a 9-month period, acute respiratory presentations to a tertiary hospital were mainly for primary/secondary level of care indications, highlighting disparity in accessing tertiary services. COPD and PTLD predominated among CRDs, while infections and cancers were common. A high readmission rate was found for several diseases, suggesting the potential for targeted interventions to prevent both admissions and readmissions and reduce acute hospital utilisation costs.


Authors' affiliations

V Ngah, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

P Maud, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

N Baines, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

R Mistry, Hospital Management, Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

N Schrueder, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

C F N Koegelenberg, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

E M Irusen, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

K Mortimer, Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

B Allwood, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

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Keywords

Inequality; Lung disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Post-tuberculosis lung disease; Haemoptysis

Cite this article

South African Medical Journal 2021;111(11):1104-1109. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i11.15711

Article History

Date submitted: 2021-11-05
Date published: 2021-11-05

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