Governments’ Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic clears the Road for their Responses to the Traffic Pandemic

Governments all over the world have been instrumental in limiting the devastating effects of the highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic. Although the success rate of a plethora of completely novel legislations is still yet unknown, there can be little doubt about the intensity of political will and resources allocated to fight the spread and effects of the pandemic. In this perspective piece, a comparison is made between governmental responses worldwide to COVID-19 and their responses to a much longer-lasting and even more devasting pandemic, the catastrophe of road traffic crashes. Comparing these two pandemics highlights the negligible level of attention road traffic crash prevention has received in the past and the valuable lessons that can be drawn for the future

Animal attacks – a red herring of child abuse?

No Abstract. South African Medical Journal Vol. 96 (3) 2006: 184-18

Short emergency department length of stay attributed to full-body digital radiography - a review of 3 paediatric cases

Multiple casualties strain the resources of emergency departments. Two polytraumatised patients arriving simultaneously can overwhelm a small community hospital, while the capacity of a large urban emergency department does not extend beyond the treatment of 3 - 4 severely injured patients at the same time using the routine trauma protocol.1 Emergency department overcrowding because of multiple casualties leads to increased length of stay and can have an adverse effect on patient outcome. Variations from the norm in trauma management, particularly during the initial assessment and resuscitation phase of care, during a multiple casualty incident, has been associated with 10% and 9% incidence of preventable morbidity and mortality, respectively.2 Inadequate evaluation may contribute to up to 30% of early deaths in children with polytrauma.

An introduction to surgical challenges and priorities in rural areas

An introduction to surgical challenges and priorities in rural area

Evaluation of the performance of lecturers in general surgery by 4th- and 6th-year MB ChB students at the University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa

Background. Students’ evaluation of teaching performance is one of the important means of measuring the quality of higher education worldwide. Students are valuable contributors to improvement of the teaching performance of lecturers. For any academic institution, it is very important to receive feedback on teaching quality from students. Objectives. To determine lecturers’ performance as evaluated by undergraduate students in general surgery, with the aim of identifying the lecturers’ strengths and planning tactics for any necessary improvement measures. Methods. This study followed a descriptive research design to evaluate seven lecturers in general surgery by 4th- and 6th-year MB ChB students at the University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa. Results. Seven lecturers were evaluated by the students. From the study results, there is strong evidence that the majority of the participants were satisfied with 5/7 lecturers’ interpersonal skills and communication and presentation style, including an overall rating (p<0.0001). Two lecturers were considered by the students to require some level of improvement in performance (p<0.0001). Conclusion. General surgery students expressed satisfaction with the teaching performance of most members of the academic staff. However, some lecturers need to improve with regard to audibility and preparation for slide presentations

The challenges of starting a tertiary orthopaedics centre in a rural area

Rural areas are known to be less well resourced than urban areas. Starting new subspecialty centres in an urban area may be challenging; starting them in rural areas is often even harder. In this article we explore various factors that make starting a tertiary orthopaedics unit difficult. We first discuss the background, followed by general challenges of initiating specialised units in rural areas and then the more specific challenges with regard to orthopaedic surgery, and we finish by discussing some socioeconomic and family issues

An audit of emergency admissions to the adult general surgery department at Pietersburg Hospital, Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa, during an 8-month period in 2021

Background. Emergency general surgery represents illnesses of very diverse pathology, related only by their urgent nature. The burden of general surgery emergency admissions at Pietersburg Hospital in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa, is currently unknown. Objectives. To describe the demographic characteristics and clinical presentation of general surgical patients admitted to Pietersburg Hospital, as well as their surgical management, in order to plan future resource allocation. Methods. This was a retrospective descriptive audit of patients admitted to the adult general surgery department over the 8-month period April - November 2021. Results. A total of 893 surgical emergency patients treated during the study period were included in the analysis. Of these, 357 were trauma and 536 non-trauma emergency cases. The majority of the patients (61%) were managed non-operatively. Of the 39% who required surgical management, only 24% had their operation performed within the first 24 hours, with the remainder only operated on after a delay owing to unavailability of space in theatre and/or unavailability of an intensive care unit (ICU) bed. Conclusion. The lack of a dedicated surgical emergency theatre and the shortage of ICU beds are burning issues at Pietersburg Hospital and should be addressed as a matter of the greatest urgency

An audit on the preliminary results of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography performed in the Limpopo Academic Complex, Polokwane, South Africa

Background. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an endoscopic procedure that is an important treatment modality for the management of hepatic, pancreatic and biliary diseases. The ERCP unit in the Limpopo Academic Complex in Polokwane, South Africa, was established at the end of 2021. Objectives. To identify areas for improvement in the new ERCP unit. Methods. All ERCP procedures were audited in five components: (i) room set-up; (ii) endoscope, guidewires and consumable accessories; (iii) fluoroscopy; (iv) sedation and analgesia; and (v) ERCP endoscopist and staff. These were considered the essential pillars of an ERCP unit. The quality of each component was graded in every ERCP procedure as grade 1 (very poor), grade 2 (below average), grade 3 (average), grade 4 (above average), and grade 5 (highly satisfactory). Results. Nine therapeutic ERCP procedures were performed during the period 10 January - 31 May 2022. Eighteen theatre slots were allocated for ERCP procedures during the study period, but only seven of them were utilised. The quality of ERCP unit components was highest for the sedation and analgesia component (mean grade of 4) and lowest for fluoroscopy (mean 1.8). Conclusion. Establishing a new ERCP service is a task with many challenges. We present the preliminary results of the Limpopo Academic Complex ERCP unit with a view to adding our experience to the current knowledge