We’ve transformed surgical research in Nigeria in 10 years – Health Research Institute Director
Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa, Nigeria Hub Director, National Institute of Health Research Global Surgery Unit (NIHR GSU), says the organisation had made successful impacts in Nigeria in its 10 years of existence and transformed surgical research, training and patients’ care.
The NIHR GSU Nigeria Hub is committed to advancing surgical research and care across Nigeria.
Beyond research, the organisation aims at shaping the future of surgical care by investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Ademuyiwa, a Professor of Surgery at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said the hub started working in collaboration with some foreign institutions in 2016.
He listed the institutions to include: University of Birmingham, University of Edinburg and others in selected low and middle-income countries, stressing that the funding rounds for the collaboration would officially come to an end this month (June).
“Our work is about 10 years now; 10 years of medical impact, achievements and successes. In these 10 years, we have recorded a lot.
“Before NIHR Global Surgery Unit was formed, most of our research had been single institution-based retrospective research 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 which the organisation had recorded in its 10 years of existence in Nigeria to include the FALCON trial with recruitment target of 5,788 participants across all centres.
He noted that Nigeria contributed a total of 2,165, (37.4 per cent) of participants in 12 centres across the country.
The medical expert also mentioned the CHEETAH trial, the second global surgical trial from NHIR GSU network, with recruitment target of 12,800 participants from 64 clusters, with the country contributing 2,679 participants (20.1 per cent) in 16 centres.
He added that the hub also held “The PENGUIN trial”, which he described as the third surgical randomised clinical trial with 12,942 recruitment target 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, HIPPO study, CAMELs study and Enhanced Monitoring Using Sensors After Surgery (EMUs).
He said that the organisation had supported several observational studies, looking at mortality that usually occurs after surgery as well as cancers and cholecystectomies.
“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 change to our surgical practice.
“Like the CHEETAH trial, we were able to show that changing gloves and instruments at closure of fascia and skin reduces surgical site infection 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 very unique, as it allowed for inclusion of LMIC partners from conception to publication of research findings.
This, he said, had led to the building of research capacity with some LMIC researchers leading in publications in some high-impact journals.
“This model is also different from earlier models where HIC partners organise surgical outreaches without adequate investment in capacity building of the 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, 150 in laparoscopic skills, with more than 1,000 others mentored at a medical student-led conference.
Although he noted that there were a couple of challenges that confronted the hub, adding, however, that they were all surmounted.
Ademuyiwa commended the managements of University of Lagos, the university’s College of Medicine and Lagos University Teaching Hospital for their assistance in overcoming the challenges and for providing accommodation for the data centre, the simulation centre and research office.
