title: Strangulated inguinal hernia in adult males in Kumasi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The complications of untreated inguinal hernias are common surgical emergencies in adult Ghanaian men.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the epidemiology of strangulated inguinal hernia in adult males in Kumasi.
  
  
  METHODS
  From the hospital records the age and sex of all male adult patients treated for strangulated inguinal hernia were recorded at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital(KATH), the University Hospital (UH), the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital (SDAH) and the Kumasi South Hospital (KSH) for the period January 2007 to December 2011 inclusive. The total number of inguinal hernia repairs from all four facilities was also recorded. The annual incidence of strangulated inguinal hernia and the hernia repair rates were estimated using the 2010 population data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five-hundred and ninety-two cases of strangulated inguinal hernia were treated over the five years. The incidence of strangulated inguinal hernia was 0.26%. A total of 2243 inguinal hernia repairs were performed and 26.4 % of these repairs were for strangulation. The total number of inguinal hernia repairs averaged 77.3 repairs per 100 000 adult males per year and the elective repair rate was low at 0.9%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is the need to increase the levels of elective repair of inguinal hernia in Kumasi.
authors: Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag, University Post Office, Kumasi Ghana ; Department of Surgery, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ohene-Yeboah
authors: Department of Surgery, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors: C K
authors: CK
authors: Dally
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Kumasi; Strangulated inguinal hernia; adults; incidence; inguinal hernia repair rates