title: Primary repair of colonic injuries at the Kundiawa and Madang General Hospitals, Papua New Guinea.
abstract: In this study, we evaluated the safety of primary repair of colon injury in a low-volume tropical hospital setting. Between 1998 and 2005, 18 consecutive patients who underwent emergency operation for civilian traumatic colon injury were studied. The main outcome measures were the mortality and morbidity rates and the total length of the hospital stay. The mean hospital stay for one-stage repair was 12 days versus 29 days for the two-stage procedure, which was a significant difference (p = 0.009). There was no death reported from this study. There was no significant difference in postoperative septic complications between the one-stage and two-stage procedures. One-stage repair of colonic injury is a safe and cost-effective option for selected patients in the tropical hospital setting.
authors.affiliation: Kundiawa General Hospital, PO Box 346, Kundiawa, Simbu Province 461, Papua New Guinea.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuzma
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaworski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003106:Colon / Q000293:injuries*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult