NEUROSURGICAL IN-PATIENT PROFILE:A THREE-YEAR AUDIT IN A REGIONAL CENTRE

The burden of neurosurgical care in West Africa, compared with established facilities in Europe and America, is immense. The reasons include preventable neurotrauma, the dearth of specialists and a lack of a regional centre for neurosurgical care. The few unevenly spread established neurosurgical units can only meet the needs of a few. This study is an appraisal of neurosurgical care in a Teaching Hospital facility established in 1973, but commencing specialist neurosurgical care in 2006. Nine hundred and twenty-six(926)bpatients were admitted into neurosurgical care. They were aged 16 days to 90 years. Male to female ratio was 3.3: 1; patients aged 21 to 40 years accounted for approximately 50%. The commonest indication for admission was traumatic brain injury, 66.5%. Mortality rate was 14% correlating with need for intensive care admission, percentage of severe traumatic brain injuries and advancing age.