Spectrum of Disease Conditions Seen at the Gastroenterology Clinic of a Tertiary Health Facility in South-Western Nigeria

Background: Globally, gastrointestinal medical conditions are common and a considerable number of patients will require specialist consultation for the diagnosis, management and follow-up care.

Aim: To determine the spectrum of disease conditions seen at the Gastroenterology clinic of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti in south-western Nigeria.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who attended the Gastroenterology clinic between January 2015 and December 2019 (a period of 5 years). The Age, Gender and Diagnosis were obtained from the Clinic Register. A total of 679 patients attended the clinic over the period and they were all recruited into the study. The data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Descriptive statistics used included frequency tables, means and standard deviations.

Results: A total number of 679 patients attended the Gastroenterology clinic during the period under review out of which 353 (52.0%) were males and 326 (48.0%) were females with a male to female ratio of 1.08 to 1. The age range of the patients was 10 to 93 years with a mean (±SD) of 43.8 (±16.32) and median of 40.0 years.

The commonest medical condition seen at our clinic was Chronic Hepatitis B viral infection (38.1%), followed by Acid Peptic Disorders (27.0%), Liver cirrhosis (5.2%), Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (5.0%) and Hepatocellular carcinoma (4.1%). Hepatocellular carcinoma was the commonest malignancy seen at our clinic followed by Gastric cancer (2.5%), Colorectal cancer (1.9%) and Cholangiocarcinoma (0.7%). Pancreatic cancer and Oesophageal cancer were seen at our clinic at the same frequency (0.6% each). Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Achalasia and Irritable Bowel Syndrome were the least frequently seen (0.1% each) medical conditions at our clinic. Acute Hepatitis B viral infection constituted 2.9% while Chronic Hepatitis C viral infection constituted 2.4% of the cases seen. The other medical conditions seen at our clinic include Alcoholic Liver Disease (2.4%), Abdominal Tuberculosis (0.7%), Toxin-induced Hepatitis (0.6%), Haemorrhoids (0.6%), Ulcerative Colitis (0.4%) and Diverticular Disease (0.3%).

Conclusion: The commonest medical condition seen at our Gastroenterology clinic was Chronic Hepatitis B virus infection followed by Acid Peptic Disorders both of which are largely preventable and the commonest malignancy seen at our clinic was Hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis B virus infection is highly prevalent in our environment and it is a risk factor for chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Efforts must be enhanced by all stakeholders to curb the spread of this virus and thereby limit its sequelae.