KARACHI: Hundreds of trained and qualified gastroenterologists are required at tertiary care health facilities in the country as around 60-70 percent patients who come to the hospitals’ emergencies for medical treatments have complaints regarding gastrointestinal tract and liver diseases, officials and health experts said on Saturday.

“Around 60-70 percent burden on the healthcare facilities’ emergencies is comprised of patients with need treatment for diarrhea, vomiting, other gastrointestinal health issues and problems for liver. In these circumstances, we need more trained and qualified gastroenterologists to deal with growing burden of patients with GI health issues,” Prof Dr Shahid Rasool said while speaking at inaugural session of 5th Annual Conference of Pak GI and Liver Disease Society (PGLDS) on Saturday.

Leading medical specialists and gastroenterologists from different parts of the country as well as medical students and postgraduate trainees are attending the three-day scientific conference, during which issues of waterborne illnesses, viral and bacterial infections including Hepatitis B&C, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), use of Artifical Intelligence in diagnosis and treatment are being discussed while hands-on training sessions on advanced endoscopy and other procedures were also arranged.

For the first time in the history of Pakistan, treatment guidelines for the helicobacter pylori were launched by the PGLDS in collaboration with Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan, organizers said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023