Hernia among Patients Admitted to the Department of Surgery of a Tertiary Care Centre.

INTRODUCTION: Hernia is one of the most common surgical conditions causing disability and requiring hospital admission and surgery. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of hernia among patients admitted to the Department of Surgery of a tertiary care centre.

METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients admitted to the Department of Surgery between 14 April 2021 and 13 April 2023 and were collected from 1 July 2023 to 31 July 2023 from the hospital records. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee. The patient admitted to the Department of Surgery was included and those with incomplete data were excluded. Convenience sampling was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval.

RESULTS: Out of 2057 patients, the prevalence of hernia was 247 (12.01%) (10.61-13.41, 95% Confidence Interval). A total of 31 (12.55%) hernias were irreducible and 15 (6.07%) were operated in the emergency setting. The most common type of hernia was inguinal hernia found in 169 (68.42%) and hypertension was the most common comorbidities found in 48 (19.43%).

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hernia was similar to other studies done in similar settings. Hernia accounts for a major surgical burden in our setting. So, early diagnosis and treatment could reduce the morbidity and mortality related to it.

KEYWORDS: hernia; inguinal hernia; prevalence; surgery; umbilical hernia.