STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CLINICAL ACTIVITIES IN AN ACADEMIC ORTHOPAEDIC UNIT.

Abstract

Statistics of the clinical activities of an academic training unit was compiled from 1 January 2005 until 31 December 2005. The statistical study had three purposes. Firstly to determine the pathological profile of the patient population and to determine the distribution of patients who needed acute management versus elective surgery. Secondly to determine the needed staff establishment especially with the future anticipated expanding role of the public health sector in the management of orthopaedic patients. The last aim was to create a model of the clinical activities of a junior orthopaedic surgeon during one year of orthopaedic trauma training.

Detailed statistics were compiled of all the clinical activities at the two hospitals. The one is a tertiary trauma centre, but also functions at a secondary trauma care level. The second hospital is a referral tertiary care orthopaedic hospital where elective surgery takes place. Furthermore the statistics were also compiled in such a way that detailed doctor activities could be processed from it.

There were 181 spinal admissions of which 77 were treated surgically. 106 were treated conservatively. Elective spinal surgery consisted of 20 cases who needed reconstructive surgery and we managed 56 spinal infections. 1263 cases were admitted for orthopaedic trauma management of which 259 had surgery for femur fractures. A total of 250 tibia fractures were treated surgically and a total of 216 radius and ulna fractures. 117 arthroscopic knee procedures were done. A total of 168 arthroplasty cases were treated of which 47 were problem cases.

Pathological profile was determined and gave guidance to clinical studies that should be undertaken. The numbers of some types of injuries that were managed are large. Staff establishment assessment can be done and the expansion of it can be motivated for. A model can be compiled for clinical activities of orthopaedic surgeons in training. Extracted from this statistical analysis an activity list was compiled for an orthopaedic surgeon in training. Amongst other minor cases and excluding Paediatric orthopaedic cases – Femur neck fractures 18, Femur fractures 29, Ankle fractures 53, Humerus fractures 12 and adult Supracondylar humerus fractures 9 and Radius Ulna fractures 34 were done.