Health
NIHR Transformed Nigeria’s Surgical Research In 10 Years – Hub Director
By Abiodun Abegunde
Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa, Nigeria Hub Director, National Institute for Health Research Global Surgery Unit (NIHR GSU), says the organisation has transformed surgical research, training and patient care in Nigeria over its 10 years of existence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NIHR GSU Nigeria Hub is committed to advancing surgical research and care across Nigeria.
NAN also reports that beyond research, the organisation aims to shape the future of surgical care by investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Ademuyiwa, a Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said the hub began collaborating with some foreign institutions in 2016.
He listed the institutions to include the University of Birmingham, the University of Edinburgh and others in selected low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stressing that the funding rounds for the collaboration would officially come to an end this month.
“Our work has spanned about 10 years; 10 years of medical impact, achievements and successes. During these 10 years, we have recorded a lot.
“Before the NIHR Global Surgery Unit was formed, most of our research had been single-institution retrospective studies because there was no funding to support large, prospective, randomised controlled trials.
“So it was NIHR, to my understanding, that supported the first international, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial in surgery, in which Nigerian surgeons are actively involved,” he said.
Ademuyiwa highlighted some of the trials and studies the organisation had undertaken during its 10 years of existence in Nigeria, including the FALCON trial, which had a recruitment target of 5,788 participants across all centres.
He noted that Nigeria contributed a total of 2,165 participants, representing 37.4 per cent of the total, across 12 centres in the country.
The medical expert also mentioned the CHEETAH trial, the second global surgical trial from the NIHR GSU network, with a recruitment target of 12,800 participants from 64 clusters, with Nigeria contributing 2,679 participants (20.1 per cent) across 16 centres.
He added that the hub also conducted the PENGUIN trial, which he described as the third surgical randomised clinical trial, with a recruitment target of 12,942 participants in 15 centres across the globe, including Nigeria.
According to him, the results of the trial are still being awaited.
Other trials, Ademuyiwa said, included GlobalSurg 1, GlobalSurg 2, COVIDSurg, ASOS-Paeds, the HIPPO study, the CAMELs study and Enhanced Monitoring Using Sensors After Surgery (EMUs).
He said the organisation had supported several observational studies examining postoperative mortality, as well as cancer and cholecystectomy outcomes.
“We are currently looking at appendicitis in the ALLIGATOR study, which is also likely to recruit similar numbers across the world.
“These studies have also assisted in recommending changes to surgical practice.
“Like the CHEETAH trial, we were able to show that changing gloves and instruments before closure of the fascia and skin reduces surgical site infections by about 15 per cent.
“The Federal Ministry of Health has incorporated this into the surgical safety checklist across federal hospitals in Nigeria,” he said.
Ademuyiwa described the collaborative efforts as unique because they allowed for the inclusion of LMIC partners from the conception of research projects through to the publication of research findings.
This, he said, had led to the building of research capacity, with some LMIC researchers leading publications in high-impact journals.
“This model is also different from earlier models where HIC partners organise surgical outreach programmes without adequate investment in the capacity building of LMIC partners,” he said.
The don also stated that capacity building remained a major achievement of the NIHR GSU collaboration, leading to the training of more than 500 surgeons and surgical residents in good clinical practice and research.
He said a total of 600 community health extension workers had been trained in stoma care and surgical site infection identification, 100 medical students in data management.
According to him, it also includes 150 in laparoscopic skills, while more than 1,000 others has been mentored through a medical student-led conference.
He, however, noted that the hub had faced a couple of challenges, he added that they had all been surmounted.
Ademuyiwa commended the management of the University of Lagos, its College of Medicine and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital for their support in overcoming the challenges and for providing accommodation for the data centre, simulation centre and research office. (NAN)
Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq