FG, Ex-UCH CMD, others chart new pathway on musculoskeletal infections, prevention, treatment

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isiaq Salako, former Chief Medical Director (CMD) at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Temitope Alonge and other orthopedic experts have critically examined challenges related with orthopedic care across the nation.

They lamented that musculoskeletal infections is now becoming harder to detect and complicated to treat, saying effort to diagnosed and treat orthopedic patients is gradually becoming insufficient.

Speaking in Ibadan at the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Orthopedic Association, with theme “Musculoskeletal Infections: Prevention, Diagnostic, and Treatment”, Salako, who was represented by Prof. Jesse Otegbayo said considering rising trauma cases, limited diagnostic facilities and escalating wave of antimicrobial resistance, Nigeria is at difficult intersection.

According to him, these infections determine how long people stay in the hospital, how much families spend and in many cases whether a patient returns fully to work or lives with disability.

He noted that Federal Ministry is strengthening the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System to improve early response, expanding infection-control capacity in surgical centres and upgrading trauma units with essential consumables and modern imaging toola.

In his keynote address, Prof. Alonge said today’s injuries are rarely straightforward because some of them now come from high-impact crashes, gunshot wounds, assaults and other unpredictable sources. 

He lamented that these wounds introduce bacteria that behave differently from what surgeons dealt with decade ago.

“For years, we behaved as if Staphylococcus aureus was behind everything but that world is gone. The organisms we see now are more diverse, more resistant and sometimes completely undetectable using the older methods.”

He recalled a time when gram stains and simple cultures could reliably identify an infection, adding that comfort is fading because many organisms have adapted.

“Some avoid detection, others resist multiple antibiotics and a number of them hide within biofilms. These changes can be push toward molecular imaging, a technology that looks directly at bacterial cells rather than relying on their behavior in a laboratory dish.”

Alonge also clarified a long-standing concern in trauma practice which is open fractures, saying they remained most common emergency cases, because managing them properly requires strict adherence to an 11-step protocol.

He explained that where that process breaks down, infections like chronic osteomyelitis become almost inevitable.

He however blamed delays, unregulated treatments and growing involvement of quacks for many of the preventable complications surgeons now treat.

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Earlier in her remarks, the Secretary to the Government of Oyo state, Prof. Olanike Adeyemo hailed the medical experts for choosing Ibadan to host its 48th AGM.

She however reaffirmed commitment of governor Seyi Makinde towards providing and sustaining quality healthcare system in the state, expressing optimism that the outcome of the conference would further reshape the medical landscape in the state.