Management of cancer pain--a survey of current practice in West Africa.

A comprehensive management plan for cancer pain is yet to be formulated in the West African sub region despite the priority that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has devoted to the problem over the past decade. As a prerequisite to our cancer pain management curriculum development a structured questionnaire on cancer pain management practice was administered to 80 Fellows attending the Annual Scientific Conference of the West African College of Surgeons in 1996. They were asked how often they treated cancer patients, the causes of cancer pain, their methods of assessment and therapeutic measures and complications of management techniques. Forty-four fellows from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, all consultants and trainers, responded to the questionnaire. About 80% of them treated cancer patients all the time. Specific anti-cancer therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy and hormone therapy were available in the four countries but radiotherapy was only available in two centers in Nigeria. The respondents estimated that 70-90% of their patients had severe pain at presentation. Pain was thought by 52% of respondents to be due to cancer and its treatment while 47% thought it was due to cancer and the fear of dying. Pain assessment was mostly by the verbal rating scale, only 20% included psychological measurement in their schedules. Oral preparations of strong opioids were not available in most countries andfor severe pain, the parenteral route was employed. Only 18% knew about the 'by the clock' dosing schedule. The study revealed that the standard of practice of the respondents falls below accepted practice. There is thus an urgent need for the formal education of personnel involved in the care of these patients.

Intra-operative cardiac arrests.

This is a review of patients who had cardiac arrest in the operating suites at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan between January 1994 and December 1998. The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the incidence of intraoperative cardiac arrests, identify associated factors and, in particular, those factors that might be essential for better prognosis. The study was retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional. The figures were retrieved from the theatre records, the intensive care records, case notes and pathology reports. During the study period, 6,356 operations were performed. There were 35 cardiac arrests giving an incidence of 55 per 10,000 operations. Of the 35 cases, 18(51.4%) were males while 17(48.6%) were females. The age range was 4 months to 84 years (mean 32.5 years) with wide distribution through the decades. Of the twenty-four patients (68.6%) that were done as emergency cases, four patients (17.1%) recovered fully. Of the 11(31.4%) elective cases, 5 (41.7%) made full recovery. Ten patients (28.6%) were ASA I & II, while 25 (71.4%) were graded ASA status III to V. The factors associated with cardiac arrest in this study included emergency operation and the ASA status.

The choice of anaesthesia as a career by undergraduates in a developing country.

The choice of anaesthesia as a future career by 54 undergraduates of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria was studied. None of the students selected anaesthesia as first choice; the specialty ranked sixth. The short duration of exposure to anaesthesia, insufficient participation in practical anaesthesia during their posting and inadequate provision of teaching aids were considered by the students to require improvement. The authors also suggest early introduction of anaesthesia in their curriculum.