A qualitative assessment of the benefits and challenges of international neurosurgical teaching collaboration in Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives of Ethiopian and international neurosurgeons on the development of a sustainable academic neurosurgery teaching unit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A qualitative case study methodology was employed. RESULTS: Ethiopian and international surgeons describe a rewarding cross-cultural experience. Areas in need of improvement include communication, educational infrastructure, and structured morbidity and mortality discussions. Data collection that aims to understand better the burden of neurosurgical disease in Ethiopia along with rapidly expanding Ethiopian government initiatives to improve the health care system will lead to improved patient care. CONCLUSIONS: Genuine partnerships between surgeons who have trained and worked in well-developed neurosurgical centers and those that are working within the confines of limited resources have the mutual desire to improve neurosurgical care. Understanding each other's perspective is an important aspect of program development.

Establishing a surgical partnership between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Toronto, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Academic partnerships between high- and low/middle-income countries can improve the quality of surgical education and health care delivery in each setting. We report the perceived needs related to collaborative surgical education in a resource-limited setting. METHODS: We used qualitative methods to elicit the opinions of surgical faculty members and surgical residents and quantitative methods to outline surgical procedure type and volume. RESULTS: Ethiopian faculty members identified the management of trauma and emergency surgical care as a priority. They identified supervision in the operating room (OR), topic-specific lectures and supervising resident assessments in the clinic as appropriate roles for partners. Residents were in agreement with faculty members, highlighting a desire for supervision in the OR and topic-specific lectures. CONCLUSION: We present specific experiences and needs of a surgical teaching unit in a low-income country, paving the way to form a meaningful and responsive relationship between 2 surgical departments in 2 universities.

CONTEXTE: Les partenariats universitaires entre pays riches et pays à revenus faibles ou moyens peuvent améliorer l'enseignement de la chirurgie et la prestation des soins de santé dans chaque contexte. Nous faisons état des besoins perçus en matière de collaboration pour la formation en chirurgie dans un milieu aux ressources limitées. MÉTHODES: Nous avons utilisé des méthodes qualitatives pour sonder l'opinion des professeurs et des résidents en chirurgie, ainsi que des méthodes quantitatives pour faire le point sur les types d'opérations et leur volume. RÉSULTANTS: Les professeurs éthiopiens ont établi comme priorités la traumatologie et les soins chirurgicaux d'urgence. Ils ont évoqué la supervision au bloc opératoire, les conférences sur des thèmes précis et la supervision de l'évaluation clinique des résidents comme rôles appropriés pour les partenaires. Les résidents ont été du même avis que les professeurs et ont confirmé leur souhait d'être supervisés au bloc opératoire et d'entendre des conférences sur des thèmes précis. CONCLUSIONS: Nous présentons les expériences et les besoins particuliers d'une unité d'enseignement de la chirurgie dans un pays à faible revenu, et nous pavons ainsi la voie pour l'établissement d'un lien de collaboration important et pertinent entre les départements de chirurgie de 2 universités.

Assessment of spinal cord compression by magnetic resonance imaging--can it predict surgical outcomes in degenerative compressive myelopathy? A systematic review.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. OBJECTIVE: We sought to conduct a systematic review to examine the role of magnetic resonance imaging in predicting outcomes after surgery and to evaluate the evidence currently available critically. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Degenerative compressive myelopathy is a common clinical problem associated with adverse health outcomes. Although a number of studies have investigated the association between preoperative magnetic resonance imaging characteristics and outcomes after surgery for degenerative compressive myelopathy, the conclusions of these studies have often yielded differing results. METHODS: Articles examining the predictive value of magnetic resonance imaging were obtained from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed databases (1980-2011). Thirty publications that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Two reviewers independently assessed each study regarding the level of evidence (using the criteria proposed by Sackett) and methodological quality based on revised Cochrane quality assessment checklist. RESULTS: Three excellent, 1 good, and 10 poor quality studies assessed cord compression--transverse area (4), compression ratio (5), and anteroposterior diameter (1). Relationship between signal intensity (SI) changes and surgical outcomes were reviewed by 28 studies--8 excellent, 9 good, and 13 poor quality studies. SI changes within the spinal cord included the presence of SI on T2-weighted image (WI) (17), area of SI on T2WI (8), degree of SI on T2WI (5), presence of SI on both T1-/T2WI (2), SI ratio on T2WI (2), and the position of SI on T2WI (1). CONCLUSION: Based on a combination of excellent and good quality studies, transverse area correlates with recovery ratio but not with postoperative functional score assessed by Japanese Orthopaedic Association/modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. SI changes defined by (1) its presence on T2WI, (2) its extent (focal or multisegmental), (3) its brightness, and (4) its presence on both T1-/T2WI can predict surgical outcomes in degenerative compressive myelopathy.

The consequence of delayed neurosurgical care at Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Tikur Anbessa Hospital (TAH) is the major teaching hospital for Addis Ababa University and the only tertiary referral hospital for neurosurgery in Ethiopia. We explore the consequence of delayed treatment by examining the current system in place for treating patients and the wait times experienced by patients. A retrospective chart review was carried out on patients who received a neurosurgical operation at TAH between January 1 and June 30, 2007. We divided patients into those requiring an elective procedure and those requiring emergency surgical care. Based on data entered in the chart, we determined the length of time from symptom onset to neurosurgical consultation and the time from consultation to receiving an operation. Selective cases were chosen to illustrate the effects of delayed care. A total of 172 neurosurgical operations were performed between January 1 and June 30, 2007, at TAH. Of these, 107 (62.2%) charts were available for retrospective review. Fifty-six elective cases were reviewed. The median time from symptom onset to neurosurgical consultation was 185 days. The median time from neurosurgical consultation to operation was 44 days. Fifty-one trauma/emergency surgical cases were reviewed. The median time from symptom onset or traumatic event to neurosurgical consultation was 3 days. The median time from neurosurgical consultation to operation was 1 day. Delayed neurosurgical care comes with a high personal and social cost. By measuring the time from diagnosis to treatment and taking note of institutional practices, changes can be initiated to improve patient waiting times.