Profile of the unknown unconscious patient at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Every human being is given a name for identification and convenience. Some patients may be brought into the accident and the emergency (A&E) department of unknown identity and the patient's name is not known. The unknown patient can be defined as a patient whose identity is unknown at the time of arrival at the hospital.

Method: This is a prospective study of unconscious patients who were unknown and unnamed at the time of admission in the Accident and Emergency Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital from September 2023 to July 2024.

Results: During the study period, 41 unknown patients were admitted to the accident and emergency. The majority of the patients were males 35(85.4%) Most of them were brought to the hospital by bystanders and the driver that hit the patient. The majority 63.4% were brought in from the accident scene, 53.7% had severe traumatic brain injury and 68.3% died. By the time the patient left the A&E either they were transferred to other wards or died, the identity of 61.0 % was known.

Conclusion: The emergency physician occasionally will encounter patients who are unconscious with no known identity. The unknown patients are mainly adult males. Trauma especially road traffic accidents is the leading cause of unconsciousness in a patient with an unknown identity.