Head, spinal injury on the rise in developing countries

In Pakistan like all other developing countries the incidence of head and spinal injury is on the rise which could be curtailed if all hospitals are well-equipped to offer neurosurgical/head injury services. This was stated in a workshop on 'Head Injury' held here on Monday, arranged by the department of Neurosurgery of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Neurosurgeons from the hospitals of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi including journalists attended the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to provide basic training and information to the doctors working in various hospitals where neurosurgical services were not available. Hence, the workshop was tailored to their needs so that they could give initial care in a more relaxed manner.
The workshop was dedicated to late Irfan Dar (senior health reporter) who died in an accident and could not get the neurosurgical aid in time. Speaking on the occasion Dr Muhammad Nadeem, Neurosurgeon, Shifa International Hospital said that it is important to know the basic ways to tackle the patient having head injury.
He discussed the difference between head injuries sustained during a road accident called acceleration/deceleration injuries and those caused by falls, assaults, firearms etc. "It is important to understand the chain of events that follow head injury. Only then we will understand the management and treatment of head injury to prevent death and disabilities," he said.
Brigadier Ishfaq Ahmad, head of Neurosurgical department at CMH, Rawalpindi said the death rate is six times more in unconscious patients, whereas it is zero percent in conscious patients. Professor Brigadier Nazeer Ahmad Qureshi, former chief of CMH, Rawalpindi said that every year, in USA, almost a million people receive head injuries.
"All high risk patients must be seen by specialist within 25 minutes and those with less risk must be seen within an hour. The specialist is responsible to act, investigate and avoid delay, which is the main cause of death," he added. Professor Arif Malik, head of Neurosurgery dept, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi talked about the complications and prognosis of head injuries.
Anxiety, depression, personality changes lead to loss of job affecting the whole family of the patient. Professor Khaleeq-uz-Zaman, chief organiser of the workshop and head, Department of Neurosurgery, PIMS, talked about prevention of accidents, first aid, transport and real care of the patients. He said, "Service is more than duty."