Browsing by Author "Wladis, A."
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Item Outcomes After Elective Inguinal Hernia Repair Performed by Associate Clinicians vs Medical Doctors in Sierra Leone(JAMA Network Open, 2021) Ashley, T.; Ashley, H.; Wladis, A.; Bolkan, H.A.; van Duinen, A.J.; Beard, J.H.; Kalsi, H.; Palmu, J.; Nordin, P.; Holm, K.; Ohene-Yeboah, M.; Löfgren, J.Task sharing of surgical duties with medical doctors (MDs) without formal surgical training and associate clinicians (ACs; health care workers corresponding to an educational level between that of a nurse and an MD) is practiced to provide surgical services to people in low-resource settings. The safety and effectiveness of this has not been fully evaluated through a randomized clinical trial. To determine whether task sharing with MDs and ACs is safe and effective in mesh hernia repair in Sierra Leone. This single-blind, noninferiority randomized clinical trial included adult, healthy men with primary inguinal hernia randomized to receiving surgical treatment from an MD or an AC. In Sierra Leone, ACs practicing surgery have received 2 years of surgical training and completed a 1-year internship. The study was conducted between October 2017 and February 2019. Patients were followed up at 2 weeks and 1 year after operations. Observers were blinded to the study arm of the patients. The study was carried out in a first-level hospital in rural Sierra Leone. Data were analyzed from March to June 2019. All patients received an open mesh inguinal hernia repair under local anesthesia. The control group underwent operations performed by MDs, and the intervention group underwent operations performed by ACs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary end point was hernia recurrence at 1 year. Outcomes were assessed by blinded observers at 2 weeks and 1 year after operations. A total of 230 patients were recruited (mean [SD] age, 43.0 [13.5] years), and all but 1 patient underwent inguinal hernia repair between October 23, 2017, and February 2, 2018, performed by 5 MDs and 6 ACs. A total of 114 patients were operated on by MDs, and 115 patients were operated on by ACs. There were no crossovers between the study arms. The follow-up rate was 100% at 2 weeks and 94.1% at 1 year. At 1 year, hernia recurrence occurred in 7 patients (6.9%) operated on by MDs and 1 patient (0.9%) operated on by ACs (absolute difference, −6.0 [95% CI, −11.2 to 0.7] percentage points; P < .001). These findings demonstrate that task sharing of elective mesh inguinal hernia repair with ACs was safe and effective. The task sharing debate should progress to focus on optimizing surgical training programs for nonsurgeons and building capacity for elective surgical care in low- and middle-income countries.Item Outcomes After Inguinal Hernia Repair With Mesh Performed by Medical Doctors and Surgeons in Ghana.(JAMA Surgery Sign In Individual Sign In Sign inCreate an Account Institutional Sign In OpenAthens Shibboleth Purchase Options: Buy this article Rent this article Subscribe to the JAMA Surgery journal, 2019-06-26) Ohene-Yeboah, M.; Beard, J.H.; Tabiri, S.; Amoako, J.K.A.; Abantanga, F.A.; Sims, C.A.; Nordin, F.; Wladis, A.; Harris, H.W.; Löfgren, J.Importance Inguinal hernia is the most common general surgical condition in the world. Although task sharing of surgical care with nonsurgeons represents one method to increase access to essential surgery, the safety and outcomes of this strategy are not well described for hernia repair. Objective To compare outcomes after inguinal hernia repair with mesh performed by medical doctors and surgeons in Ghana. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective cohort study was conducted from February 15, 2017, to September 17, 2018, at the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho, Ghana. Following successful completion of a training course, 3 medical doctors and 2 surgeons performed inguinal hernia repair with mesh according to the Lichtenstein technique on 242 men with primary, reducible inguinal hernia. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was hernia recurrence at 1 year. The noninferiority limit was set at 5 percentage points. Secondary end points included postoperative complications at 2 weeks and patient satisfaction, pain, and self-assessed health status at 1 year. Results Two-hundred forty-two patients were included; 119 men underwent operations performed by medical doctors and 123 men underwent operations performed by surgeons. Preoperative patient characteristics were similar in both groups. Two-hundred thirty-seven patients (97.9%) were seen at follow-up at 2 weeks, and 223 patients (92.1%) were seen at follow-up at 1 year. The absolute difference in recurrence rate between the medical doctor group (1 [0.9%]) and the surgeon group (3 [2.8%]) was −1.9 (1-tailed 95% CI, −4.8; P < .001), demonstrating noninferiority of the medical doctors. There were no statistically significant differences in postoperative complications (34 [29.1%] vs 29 [24.2%]), patient satisfaction (112 [98.2%] vs 108 [99.1%]), severe chronic pain (1 [0.9%] vs 4 [3.7%]), or self-assessed health (85.9 vs 83.7 of 100) for medical doctors and surgeons. Conclusions and Relevance This study shows that medical doctors can be trained to perform elective inguinal hernia repair with mesh in men with good results and high patient satisfaction in a low-resource setting. This finding supports surgical task sharing to combat the global burden of hernia disease.