PATTERN OF LIVER CANCER ADMISSIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL, IBADAN - A 4-YEAR REVIEW

BACKGROUND: Liver Cancer (LC) is a common malignancy globally, and it exacts an enormous toll on the health care system. Therefore, it is imperative to have an epidemiological profile for effective planning. METHODS: This study examined the basic demographic, admission profile and outcome of this category of patients through a retrospective cross-sectional study. The study was carried out using data of clinical diagnoses of LC admitted into the Gastro-intestinal Unit (GLU), Department of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan between 1(st) January 2011 and 31(st) December 2014. RESULTS: Two hundred and six patients (16.8%) had diagnoses of LC out of the 1228 total cases admitted by the GLU. The total male patients were 147(71.4%) and female 59 (28.6%) while the most prominent age group for both genders and males were 41-50 years in the male group and 51-60 years among females. The mean ± SD and median hospital stay was 10.6±11.6 days and eight days for LC patients, respectively. The intrahospital fatality rate was 37.9% and occurred mainly within five days of admission. CONCLUSION: Liver Cancer is an important disorder in gastrointestinal practice and had high fatality within a few days of admission; hence, efforts should be made to improve the care of the patients.