A nation in pain: high-quality local research as a crucial step to improve pain prevention and care
About 20% of South African adults have chronic pain, with women and the elderly being the worst affected; the prevalence of chronic pain is 20% greater in women than in men, and 30% of people over 65 years have chronic pain. However, beyond basic epidemiological data, fundamental information on the biological, psychological, and social factors that predispose individuals to the development and chronification of pain is missing for South Africa (and other low- to middle-income countries).
The prevalence and impact of workplace bullying among anaesthetists
A discussion of bullying usually elicits thoughts of the schoolyard. However, bullying is not confined to the domain of childhood. Bullying culture pervades all spheres of life and extends into the workplace, although the nature of the bullying may become more subtle.
The equivalence and reliability of point-of-care devices routinely used for haemoglobin measurement compared with the laboratory standard
The Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital’s (IALCH) trauma intensive care unit (ICU) requires rapid clinical and laboratory results, with a dedicated multidisciplinary team focused on the management of the critically ill. Alongside this, point-of-care (POC) devices routinely aid decision-making and facilitate the need for further investigations, blood transfusions, correction of electrolytes, and trauma surgery.
Anaesthesia for caesarean section in a patient with uncorrected Tetralogy of Fallot complicated by eclampsia
A 29-year-old woman with severe preeclampsia and uncorrected Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) presented in labour to a resource-limited South African hospital. Gestational age was estimated at 33 weeks based on an ultrasound performed the previous week, during assessment and referral to a high-risk antenatal clinic. Notes from the 32-week visit documented uneventful pregnancy, and a successful caesarean delivery 11 years earlier. She was not receiving medications for cardiac disease. A full blood count, electrolytes and renal function were within normal limits. Her haemoglobin was 13.6 g/dL and platelet count 175 x 109/L. An electrocardiogram showed signs of right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) and axis deviation. Echocardiography demonstrated all features of TOF, with right ventricular wall hypertrophy measuring 26 mm, severe pulmonary stenosis (pressure gradient 78 mmHg) and preserved ejection fraction (77%)
Spondylo-ocular syndrome: anaesthetic concerns and considerations for a novel genetic syndrome – a case report
Most of the affected individuals were from consanguineous families, and the first case report published in 2001 described a family in which six of the seven siblings were affected.