Geospatial mapping of patients presenting for Emergency Laparotomy to a Private Sector Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2018, and comprised patients who underwent emergency laparotomy. Demographic characteristics of all patients were recorded. Google Maps was used to measure the distance from their home locality to the hospital. Results: Of the 259 patients, 184(71%) presented from within the city and 75(29%) were from outside. The overall mean age was 50±20.2 years. The most common diagnosis was bowel obstruction 121(46.7%) followed by bowel perforation 112(43.2%). Of the total, 25(9.7%) patients died The median distance travelled by patients from outside the city was significantly greater than for patients from within the city (p<0.001). Conclusion: Data on where patients are presenting from to an institution is critical for life-saving surgical procedures.