Table 3 The clinical characteristics of patients admitted to the emergency ward at UoGCSH
Variables | Category | Frequencies (%) |
|---|---|---|
Direct admission to the emergency ward | Yes | 288 (68.2%) |
No | 134 (31.8%) | |
Transferred from other health facilities | Transferred from primary hospital | 93 (69.4%) |
Transferred from private hospital | 20 (14.9%) | |
Transferred from health centers | 21 (15.67%) | |
Patients who were on medication for chronic disease before admission | Yes | 123 (29.15%) |
No | 299 (70.85%) | |
Duration of therapy before admission | ≤ 36 month | 63 (51.22%) |
> 36 month | 60 (48.78%) | |
Presence of co-morbidities | Yes | 288 (68.2) |
No | 134 (31.8) | |
Number of comorbidities | 1 | 167 (57.98) |
> 1 | 121 (42.01) | |
Charlson co-morbidity index | 1–2 | 157 (37.2) |
≥ 3 | 130 (30.8) | |
None | 135 (32) | |
Estimated ten years of survival | <96% | 181 (42.9) |
≥ 96% | 241 (57.1) | |
History of traditional medication use | Yes | 139 (32.9) |
No | 283 (67.1) | |
Types of traditional medications used by patients | “Ye wefe” | 116 (83.45) |
“Haregressa” | 20 (14.38) | |
Other | 3 (2.16) | |
History of hospitalization | Yes | 194 (46) |
No | 228 (54) | |
Patients who had used medication for chronic disease before admission | Yes | 123 (29.15) |
No | 299 (70.85) | |
The number of chronic disease medications the patient was taking prior to admission | 1 | 43 (10.2) |
≥ 2 | 80 (19) | |
None | 299 (70.9) | |
Duration of therapy while taking medication used for chronic diseases before admission | ≤ 36 month | 63 (14.9) |
> 36 month | 60 (14.2) | |
Number of days in hospital after admission | ≤ 5 days | 269 (63.7) |
≥ 6 days | 153 (36.3) | |
Number of medication the patients is using now | ≤ 4 | 264 (62.6) |
≥ 5 | 158 (37.4) |