Gastroenterology Progress In Pakistan: are we on the right track?
Abstract
In late 90’s and early part of 21st century, there was a trend of doing screening endoscopies for large number of gastroenterology referrals with no emphasis on therapeutics and the treatment was mainly conservative. Slowly and gradually with advancement of technology, there has been excellent progress in diagnostics and equipments according to the needs of patients and thereby optimising treatment to a enormous extent .Now we have latest video endoscopes, endoscopic ultrasounds and even fibro scan which is a reasonable alternative to liver biopsy and very effective as well being non invasive for determining the degree of fibrosis.1
This is a common concept for every new vehicle; one needs a skilled driver who knows tips and tricks of getting through difficult situations. The same principle applies in gastroenterology where difficult cases need experienced hands and vigilant eyes not only to get through the procedure but also prevent complications. The trend of having trained staff, endoscopists, specialised nurses and recovery rooms do form the cornerstone of any state art endoscopy suite. In big tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan this is not a novel entity. They have everything required for emergency cases of upper gastrointestinal bleed, corrosive oesophageal injuries and even common bile duct stones with the troublesome symptoms like pruritis, jaundice, dark colour urine and pale stools can be eased in no time
