An Epidemiological Survey of Mortality among Patients Admitted in Ali Ibn Abitaleb Hospital in Rafsanjan, Southeast Iran, 2019

Background: Investigating information on the causes of death of patients is an undeniable necessity for health policy and disease control at the level of human societies. This study aimed to perform an epidemiological study on patient mortality in Ali Ibn Abitaleb Hospital in Rafsanjan, Southeastern Iran, 2019. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 260 patients who died during March to September, 2019 were reviewed. Data were collected from patientschr('39') records using a pre-designed checklist. Data were analyzed using t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results: The highest proportion of death was due to internal diseases (38.8%). The mean duration of hospitalization in the emergency ward was 7.14 hours and in other wards was 180.36 hours. The mean time from admission to initial visit was 57.91±29.16 minutes, to death was 185.20 hours, and to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) time was 29.82±19.29 minutes. The cause of death in various groups of patients was significantly different based on their age and the duration of being admitted in hospital (P <0.001).  Conclusions: Our findings suggested the importance of controlling and preventing internal diseases in the population from that patients referred to this hospital. More investigation on the duration of hospitalization in the ward (by assessing the association between complications due to prolonged hospital stay and mortality) can play an effective role in preventing long-term hospitalization deaths.