ArticleBMC gastroenterology2023
Factors associated with delayed reporting for surgical care among patients with surgical acute abdomen attended at Muhimbili National Hospital: Tanzania.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSurgical acute abdomen is a sudden onset of severe abdominal symptoms (pain, vomiting, constipation etc.) indicative of a possible life-threatening intra-abdominal pathology, with most cases requiring immediate surgical intervention. Most studies from developing countries have focused on complications related to delayed diagnosis of specific abdominal problems like intestinal obstruction or acute appendicitis and only a few studies have assessed factors related to the delay in patients with acute abdomen. This study focused on the time from the onset of a surgical acute abdomen to presentation to determine factors that led to delayed reporting among these patients at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and aimed to close the knowledge gap on the incidence, presentation, etiology, and death rates for acute abdomen in Tanzania.
methodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at MNH, Tanzania. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of the surgical acute abdomen were consecutively enrolled in the study over a period of 6 months and data on the onset of symptoms, time of presentation to the hospital, and events during the illness were collected.
resultsAge was significantly associated with delayed hospital presentation, with older groups presenting later than younger ones. Informal education and being uneducated were factors contributing to delayed presentation, while educated groups presented early, albeit the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.121). Patients working in the government sector had the lowest percentage of delayed presentation compared to those in the private sector and self-employed individuals, however, the difference was statistically insignificant. Family and cohabiting individuals showed late presentation (p = 0.03). Deficiencies in health care staff on duty, unfamiliarity with the medical facilities, and low experience in dealing with emergency cases were associated with the factors for delayed surgical care among patients. Delays in the presentation to the hospital increased mortality and morbidity, especially among patients who needed emergency surgical care.
conclusionDelayed reporting for surgical care among patients with surgical acute abdomen in underdeveloped countries like Tanzania is often not due to a single reason. The causes are distributed across several levels including the patient's age and family, deficiency in medical staff on duty and lack of experience in dealing with emergency cases, educational level, working sectors, socioeconomic and sociocultural status of the country.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.