276,728 patients were discharged from hospital in 2004 as a consequence of the 220,955 people who had been hospitalised or treated in the day units of the acute hospitals of the A.C. of the Basque Country, according to Eustat data. This figure means a 1.1% increase in relation to the previous year and a rate of 131 discharges per 1,000 inhabitants.

77.3% of people who were medically discharged were treated in public hospitals and 22.7% in private ones, with 97% of them resident in the A.C. of the Basque Country. By gender, men accounted for fewer discharges (49%) than did women (51%), and the average age was 54, although in the case of men, this was slightly higher (55).

Circulatory system diseases continued to be the main cause of hospitalisation, accounting for 13.1% of the total number of discharges in 2004, as was also the case in the rest of the State (in 2003), where they represented 12.9%.

Within circulatory system illnesses, those related to the heart represented 49.4%, followed by vein and lymphatic diseases, with 19.1% and cerebro-vascular diseases (occlusion of cerebral arteries) with 16.9%.

Digestive system diseases were the second most common cause of hospital admission, with 11.7% of the total, and the most frequent cases were inguinal hernias (15.5%), gallstones (6.2%) and acute appendicitis (5.9%).

Given the growing importance of the activities of day hospitals in the treatment of diseases of the nervous system and sensory organs (especially cataracts), they come in third position, with 10% of the total number of discharges; they are followed by cancers, complications in pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium and respiratory system diseases, each with a percentage of around 9%.

Elsewhere, the group of neoplasms (cancers) gave rise to the greatest number of deaths in acute hospitals (28.7%) with an important incidence of cancer of the trachea, bronchial tubes and lungs. The highest number of admissions in 2004, however, was due to bladder cancer (more than breast cancer), while bowel cancer, among the most common cancers, showed the greatest increase with regard to 2003.

The groups of diseases with the greatest proportional increase in relation to 2003 were blood diseases, general anaemia, with a 14.8% increase, congenital anomalies (8.5%) and infectious diseases (5.5%), although they remained the least common.

For women, apart from pregnancy and childbirth, the main cause of hospital admission was the group of nervous system and sensory organ diseases, while for men it was circulatory system diseases

The order of the most common group of diseases varied according to gender. For men, diseases related to the circulatory system were the main cause of hospital admission, followed by the digestive system group and that of respiratory diseases. For women, this was the third cause, behind complications in pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium and diseases of the nervous system and sensory organs.

With regard to the type of disease and bearing in mind age groups, the most frequent diagnosis for the population aged 0-14 was, for both sexes, chronic tonsillitis and adenoids, for women aged 15-44 it was pregnancy and childbirth, and for men internal knee disorders. For the 45-64 age groups, inguinal hernias were the most common for men and varicose veins for women, and in the 65-74 and 75 and over age brackets, the most widely diagnosed were cataracts, both for men and women.

Cataracts were the most frequent surgical operation

The most common surgical procedures were operations on cataracts, obstetrical procedure (induction of labour or delivery) and operations on articulations, especially knees.

By age group, operations on tonsils and adenoids, followed by those on the appendix, were the most frequent among the 0-14 age group; obstetrical procedure (induction of labour or delivery) and knee operations dominated the 15-44 age group; the latter operation also stood out in the 45-64 age group along with cases of treating hernias, while cataracts were the most frequent among the most elderly age groups (65-74 and 75 and over), followed by operations to repair articulations (knee and hip).