• L O A Thanni, A M O Shonubi, and O Akiode.
• Department of Orthopaedics and Traumlatology, College of Health Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, P. M. B. 2022, Sagamu, Ogun State. loathanni@yahoo.com
• West Afr J Med. 2005 Jan 1; 24 (1): 10-2.

BackgroundData on utilization of paediatric surgical services and the burden of paediatric surgical diseases in the West African subregion is scarce.MethodologyThis retrospective study describes paediatric surgical admissions in a Nigerian teaching hospital between January 1998 and December 2002.ResultsTwo hundred and eighty three children up to 15 years of age with surgical disorders were studied. Their mean age (+/- SD) was 5.8 +/- 4 years for males and 6.9 +/- 4 years for females. Length of stay (LOS) ranged from 1 to 127 days (mean 17 days). Turnover interval declined from 22.1 to 6.4 days while percentage bed occupancy and patients per bed per year averaged 70% and 17.4 respectively between January 2000 and December 2002. The highest mean LOS was due to malignant neoplasm (38 +/- 12 days), trauma (22 +/- 25) and surgical infection (21 +/- 22 days) while the shortest mean LOS was due to foreign body (6 +/- 4 days). The most common admitting diagnoses were trauma (36.7%), congenital anomalies (27.9%) and surgical infections (22.6%). Foreign body (2.1 %), benign tumours (0.7%) and malignant neoplasms (0.7%) were uncommon. Overall mortality was 0.4%.ConclusionsChildhood injuries, congenital anomalies and infections are important paediatric health problems.

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