A Survey of Wound Care in a Surgical Department in an Urban Clinical Setting in Northern Part of Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify, quantify the demographic, wound characteristics and treatment objectives of patients admitted in the surgical department of this tertiary hospital. Study design: A pre-prepared questionnaire was used for data collection. The questions were related to patient socio-demographic characteristics and their knowledge and attitude towards the wound management. The data collection took place from October 1st to December 31st 2016. Result: Data from 67 patients (59.7% male; 40.3% female) were collected. 29.9% were between 20-30years of age, 19.4% were alcoholics and 28.4% were traders. Majority of the wounds were caused by automobile accident (46.3%), mostly located on the legs (31.3%), majorly close wounds (85.1%) with duration of 7 days. Almost all the patients experienced wound pain (95.5%) located on the wound area (52.2%), 23.9% found it difficult to sleep and 85.1% were prescribed drugs. 86.6% had dressing changes and this was done twice weekly (32.8%). Conclusion: There is need to improve outcomes, reduce the burden of wounds and improve health related quality of life.