S Afr J Surg
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The unacceptably high rate of death and disability due to injury in sub-Saharan Africa is alarming. The objective of this work is to compare mortality rates between severely injured trauma patients at a high volume trauma centre in South Africa with matched patients in the United States. ⋯ International comparisons of inter-hospital variation in risk adjusted outcomes following trauma can identify opportunities for quality improvement and have the potential to measure the impact of any corrective strategy implemented.
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Postoperative mortality represents a major global health burden. There is little internationally comparable data from Africa of outcomes following surgery. ⋯ Although, surgical patients in Africa have a lower risk profile than high-income countries, there is a significantly increased mortality following a surgical complication in Africa.