Heading Shown here
When I read the article :
"Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of spinal cord injuries at a level II trauma centre in Nigeria: a longitudinal five year study
Adetunji M Toluse et al. Int Orthop. 2021 Mar."
Their conclusion was:
"Conclusions: Motor vehicular crash and fall-related traumatic SCI ( Spinal cord Injury ) affected mostly males and the working age group with complete tetraplegia ( can't use his legs and arms from the neck down ) as the predominating clinical pattern. There is a need for strategic interventions to reduce MVA and improve pre-hospital care and health policies to ensure early definitive care."
The question is when will this recommendation be put into effect.
The short solution is to create a better public transport system that people will be willing to ride instead of their cars, but as you can see from the Abuja morning traffic no provision was made for any public transport system like trams, metro in the master plan.
Only buses can be used and they are also going to be stuck in the morning traffic.
The second solution is a better pre-hospital system ( Ambulances at the scene ) So far no public hospital has enough funding for things like this . Where will the ambulance follow to reach you in time.
In effect we are all liable to be caught in an accident and get a spine injury. The scary thing is there will be no ambulance and no proper care when we reach that hospital. All the money you think you have made will go to your care at the time when you are on the hospital bed and can't work.( can't even lift a spoon to your mouth)
So let's advocate for a better health system for all. There is no guarantees, you will not be next .
At this point most countries will say helicopters but then those are more expensive than ambulances and maintenance is expensive. The right solution will be to build a drone for health emergencies.
When people think Africa or south America #tropical-disease and #infectious-diseases come to your mind but we are suffering from #cancer and #neurological #neurosurgical disease as well .
When it comes to head injury, the situation is worse, most people who survived make it to the article about spine injury, there arent many articles about head injury because they didn't survive the golden hour.
#health
#Africa #afrique #africaresearch #epidemiology
#Nigeria #trauma #spinesurgery #spineinjury #headinjury
https://lnkd.in/d8iRA7xU
picture : Abuja morning traffic
#Author Mahammad Abbas Tafida MD MPh
