Urological Emergencies Seen at a Tertiary Hospital in Central Region of Ghana

Abstract

Backgrou nd: Although rarely fatal, urological emergencies are somewhat common, and they must be managed immediately and properly to avoid long-term effects. Many patients consult emergency services with urological complaints. The aim of this study is to investigate the spectrum of urologic emergencies and the treatment options provided at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH). Methods: A five-year retrospective evaluation of the electronic folders of urological emergency patients selected at random who reported to the hospital between 2017 to 2022 according to age, gender, diagnosis, and treatment. SPSS version 26.0 and Microsoft Excel 2016 were used to examine the data that was obtained from the study. Results: The records of 500 patients were retrieved and they spanned across age range of 2 - 93 years. Males comprised 51.2% of the patients and 48.8% of them were females with a mean age of 46.6 years. The most common disease was genitourinary infection constituting 66.2% of the cases followed by retention of urine accounting for (10.6%). Among the urological emergencies 48 (9.6%) patients were hospitalized and 51 (10.6) emergency interventions were performed. The mostly performed procedure was the placement of a suprapubic catheter in 15 patients constituting (29.4%) of the cases. Totally post-interventional follow up rate was 49.0%. Conclusion: Most of the urological emergency patients do not require emergency surgical interventions; however, timely identification and management of urological emergencies with in-depth clinical evaluation are important to prevent late complications.