Introductions: As the life expectancy of people of Nepal rises, geriatric
population is also on constant rise. Prevalence of diseases in this
population is not well studied in Nepal. This study is carried out to assess
the disease burden in geriatric in-patients and the cause of death in Patan
Hospital to inform the planning process.
Methods: A retrospective prevalence survey of geriatric in-patients in
Internal Medicine Department in Patan Hospital was carried out using the
data base record and patient's files over a period of one year. The
demographics of patients, disease entity and the cause of death were
recorded in Microsoft XL and were analyzed.
Results: There were 1,587 patients’ charts available for analysis (out of
total 1,599 admissions, 12 were excluded because charts were not found).
There were 840 (52.93%) diseases of the respiratory system followed by
cardio-vascular diseases 184 (11.59%) and infectious diseases 122 (7.68%).
Of the 89 deaths (5.61% of 1587), 58 (65%) were due to noncommunicable
diseases while 31 (35%) were due to communicable
diseases. The commonest cause of death was due to diseases of
respiratory system 44 (COPD 20, pneumonia 18, others 6), followed by
cerebrovascular accidents in 14.
Conclusions: Respiratory disease was common findings in more than half
of geriatric patients admitted to Patan Hospital and was also the major
cause of death. Overall, non-communicable diseases accounted for two
thirds of the death.