Outpatient Services during (1423h) Hajj Season

Objective: To analyse the pattern of patients attending the Out Patient Department (OPD) during the Hajj season 1423 H with respect to their age, sex, nationality, services provided to them, and most importantly the disease trends and the medicationgiven. Method: A descriptive study was done at the OPD department in Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, Holy Makkah for the 15 daysperiod of the Hajj, i.e., 1-15 /12/1423 corresponding to 2-16/ 02/2003. All patients who arrived at the OPD during that time whether onHajj or non-Hajj and those who registered at OPD service became part of our study. With the help of standard ¡§Blue Form¡¨(providedannually by Ministry of Health exclusively for the OPD patients for every Hajj season), their age, sex, nationality, clinics attended,diagnosis and medications were noted. Results: The results revealed that 3876 patients arrived and 3856 got registration at OPD. Of the registered cases, 1282 (33%) were Hajj patients and of those 873 (22%) were males. The Hajj patients were mostly non-Saudi (30.8%).The majority of patients, 384 (26.1%), were from the Middle East. The largest category, 240 (6.2%), of Hajj patients were in the age range 51-60 years. The medical clinic was the one attended by the maximum number of patients, 1675 (43.4%), and respiratory disease cases,1582 (41%), were the commonest. Single medication as monotherapy accounted for 3644 (94.5%) of patients. Conclusion: Non-Hajjpatients were in the majority at OPD. Respiratory diseases were the commonest complaints. This study highlights a precarious situationduring the Hajj where cross-infection proliferates in a dense population. Effective services and preventative measures need to becontemplated in the light of the present finding.