Epidemiologic Surgical Profile of the Hospital Universitario San José, Popayan

Abstract

Introduction. Surgery is an integral part of health care and it is a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure that a large proportion of the population has undergone at some point in their life. They are made annually worldwide 234 million surgical procedures. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe and analyze the epidemiological profile and distribution of all surgeries performed in 2014 at the Hospital Universitario San José, Popayán, Colombia (HUSJ). Methodology. Cross-sectional study. The data were taken directly from the hospital database and system data area during 2014 after approval by the institutional ethics committee. There were constructed categories for age and surgical specialty. Descriptive statistics and graphics were done. Results: 11.090 patients underwent surgery in the period under study 50,5% of patients were female. Surgical specialty more often was adult surgery with 3044 procedures (27%); followed by plastic surgery, gynecology and orthopedics and traumatology each with approximately 1400 procedures (12%). Hospital procedures were 34%, emergency surgeries (33%) and outpatient surgery 32%. The overall average operating time was 58 minutes (1SD = 41) with a median of 47 minutes IQR [30-70]. Discussion. Surgical distribution at HUSJ in 2014 is consistent with reports from other regions to levels of similar complexity. Regional differences represent opportunities for improvement and prioritization in related processes.