Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges
Background: Establishing a neurosurgical unit in a developing country requires strenuous effort and financial support. The challenges are even more tremendous when setting up the service in a rural area. Sibu Hospital is the first district hospital in Malaysia to provide neurosurgical services to it...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214751922000044 |
| _version_ | 1828898464353746944 |
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| author | Yu Wei Heng Siew Hong Yiek Beng Ping Tan Nelson Kok Bing Yap |
| author_facet | Yu Wei Heng Siew Hong Yiek Beng Ping Tan Nelson Kok Bing Yap |
| author_sort | Yu Wei Heng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Establishing a neurosurgical unit in a developing country requires strenuous effort and financial support. The challenges are even more tremendous when setting up the service in a rural area. Sibu Hospital is the first district hospital in Malaysia to provide neurosurgical services to its population. We aimed to review the total number of patients who have used the neurosurgical services in Sibu Hospital from 2013 to 2020 in terms of its demographic pattern, type of operations done, and cases required tertiary centre’s care. We also discussed the challenges and long term prospects of neurosurgical services in a rural setting in Malaysia. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all neurosurgical patients at Sibu Hospital over seven years from 2013 to 2020. Data were extracted from neurosurgical unit admission census, outpatient clinic records and operation registry. Results: Between 2013 and 2020, there were 3927 admissions to the neurosurgical unit in Sibu Hospital. Of the included 3927 patients, 84% (n = 3320) required neurosurgical intervention: 700 hydrocephalus-related operations (21%), 615 trauma-related operations (18%), 594 vascular interventions (17%), 300 tumor-related operations (10%), 470 tracheostomies (14%), 192 cranioplasties (6%), 77 infection-related operations (3%), 49 spine interventions (1%) and 323 other cases (10%). The mortality rate was 4.8%. 0.01% (n = 57) of the patients were required to transfer to tertiary centre at SGH. From 2013 to 2020, the Neurosurgical department in Sibu Hospital had seen 13,518 patients in the outpatient clinic. Conclusion: Neurosurgical services are of paramount importance in a rural setting. Sibu Hospital is the first district hospital in Malaysia with neurosurgical services and has shown great promise. However, to maintain the sustainability of a neurosurgery unit in a rural area, the constant barriers should be addressed promptly. The future of neurosurgery in a rural community could be bright if all of the highlighted problems could be solved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:15:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f78a413110143579da4455bbf1c0b1e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-7519 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:15:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f78a413110143579da4455bbf1c0b1e2022-12-21T23:40:43ZengElsevierInterdisciplinary Neurosurgery2214-75192022-06-0128101490Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and ChallengesYu Wei Heng0Siew Hong Yiek1Beng Ping Tan2Nelson Kok Bing Yap3Corresponding author.; Department of Neurosurgery, Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, MalaysiaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, MalaysiaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, MalaysiaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, MalaysiaBackground: Establishing a neurosurgical unit in a developing country requires strenuous effort and financial support. The challenges are even more tremendous when setting up the service in a rural area. Sibu Hospital is the first district hospital in Malaysia to provide neurosurgical services to its population. We aimed to review the total number of patients who have used the neurosurgical services in Sibu Hospital from 2013 to 2020 in terms of its demographic pattern, type of operations done, and cases required tertiary centre’s care. We also discussed the challenges and long term prospects of neurosurgical services in a rural setting in Malaysia. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all neurosurgical patients at Sibu Hospital over seven years from 2013 to 2020. Data were extracted from neurosurgical unit admission census, outpatient clinic records and operation registry. Results: Between 2013 and 2020, there were 3927 admissions to the neurosurgical unit in Sibu Hospital. Of the included 3927 patients, 84% (n = 3320) required neurosurgical intervention: 700 hydrocephalus-related operations (21%), 615 trauma-related operations (18%), 594 vascular interventions (17%), 300 tumor-related operations (10%), 470 tracheostomies (14%), 192 cranioplasties (6%), 77 infection-related operations (3%), 49 spine interventions (1%) and 323 other cases (10%). The mortality rate was 4.8%. 0.01% (n = 57) of the patients were required to transfer to tertiary centre at SGH. From 2013 to 2020, the Neurosurgical department in Sibu Hospital had seen 13,518 patients in the outpatient clinic. Conclusion: Neurosurgical services are of paramount importance in a rural setting. Sibu Hospital is the first district hospital in Malaysia with neurosurgical services and has shown great promise. However, to maintain the sustainability of a neurosurgery unit in a rural area, the constant barriers should be addressed promptly. The future of neurosurgery in a rural community could be bright if all of the highlighted problems could be solved.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214751922000044NeurosurgeryRuralSarawakSibu HospitalChallenges |
| spellingShingle | Yu Wei Heng Siew Hong Yiek Beng Ping Tan Nelson Kok Bing Yap Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery Neurosurgery Rural Sarawak Sibu Hospital Challenges |
| title | Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges |
| title_full | Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges |
| title_fullStr | Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges |
| title_short | Review of Neurosurgical Services in a Rural Area of Sarawak, Malaysia: The Benefits, Prospects and Challenges |
| title_sort | review of neurosurgical services in a rural area of sarawak malaysia the benefits prospects and challenges |
| topic | Neurosurgery Rural Sarawak Sibu Hospital Challenges |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214751922000044 |
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