The profile and urological service needs of outpatients attending a tertiary centre in Western Kenya

Abstract

Background: Urological service needs cut across varied ages and related conditions. The outpatient attendance is a reflection of the common conditions constituting the urological burden of a given population (1). The urological burden in turn has implications on access to care and treatment (2) since it will determine the skills needed, mode of treatment, amount of time and other resources required to meet these needs. There is, therefore, a need to have a local data base on the profile of our urological patients and their needs with regard to modes of treatment. This study strives to and meets this important objective. Objective: To establish the epidemiology of outpatient urology patients and them service needs as seen in a tertiary centre in the Western region of Kenya. Design: Hospital based observational, descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting: The Urology Outpatient clinic of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), a 750-bed tertiary centre in the Western region of Kenya catering for approximately half of the Kenyan population. Subjects: Ninety-four first time attendees to the urology clinic seen in the year 2011. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measures were the demographic data and diagnosis while the secondary outcome measure was the urological service needs of the patients in terms of treatment as to whether surgical or medical at presentation. Results: Ninety-four patients attended the urology clinic for the first time in the year of study. The male to female ratio was 14.7: 1. Age ranged from one year to 97 years with a mean ± standard deviation of 48.0 ± 25.3 years. Half were below and half were above 50 years of age. Males had longer durations of symptoms compared to females, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.131). The top three urological problems were urethral strictures, prostate diseases and Urinary Tract Infections. There was an overall 70.2% need for surgical interventions with twenty-six-point one percent of the prostate disorders being managed medically while all urethral strictures were planned for surgery. The odds ratio for surgery after one year compared to within first year of symptoms was two. Conclusion: The urological patients attending this tertiary outpatient clinic are predominantly males and are widely spread out in terms of age and diagnosis. The clinical burden of urethral strictures has overtaken that of prostate diseases in this tertiary centre.