Groups Partner To Improve Safe Surgery In Africa   

Ahead of World Anesthesia Day, the world’s largest cleft organization, Smile Train in collaboration with Safer Surgery Nonprofit and Lifebox, have come together to improve access to high-quality medical device for safe surgery and currently absent outside of wealthy countries.

The groups in a statement jointly signed by a Pediatric Anesthesiologist at the Nairobi Hospital, Kenya, and member of the Smile Train Global Medical Advisory Board, Dr Zipporah Gathuya, Director of Programs Safety at Smile Train, Dr Elizabeth Igaga address a 30-year access gap that puts the lives of people undergoing surgery in low-resource settings at significant risk.

They also announced the unveiling of Capnography, a monitoring tool that shows if a patient is getting adequate air supply during anesthesia.

Dr Zipporah Gathuya said that there has been a big push for universal health coverage, adding that it is good to put more emphasis on surgery and surgical procedures and anaesthesia provisions to be able to achieve universal health coverage.

She said, “Yet, capnography remains largely unavailable across most low-resource setting operating rooms with research showing there is often a 100% gap between the need for capnography and its availability in low-income countries.

“A capnograph is the best tool to detect a leading cause of anesthesia-related complications and deaths in low-resource settings: the misplacement of the breathing tube supplying oxygen to the patient. Without an oxygen supply, a patient will suffer catastrophic harm in a matter of minutes, including brain damage and death.

” The risk of a misplaced breathing tube is greater in children. Increasing available capnography will significantly bridge the gap in anesthesia safety for people—including children—undergoing surgery in low-resource settings.

“Putting a person under anesthesia without a capnography is like flying blind – you lack the basic information required to keep them safe.

“As healthcare providers, we are concerned that our surgical patients are not monitored with this essential device, even though it’s a standard practice in wealthy countries. Capnography shouldn’t be a privilege; it’s a demand for patient safety everywhere, and it’s needed now.”

Working with industry partner Zug Medical Systems, Smile Train and Lifebox are making available the first high-quality, user-friendly, affordable capnograph with sturdy construction and long battery life. The Smile Train-Lifebox Capnograph meets robust specifications for both the monitoring of pediatric patients and use in low-resource settings and underwent rigorous laboratory and field testing.

Concerted efforts are now needed by the World Health Organization to update global guidelines for safe anesthesia to come into line with high-income practice. Change in global guidelines and national practices would eventually drive market demand for more affordable, durable capnographs suitable for use in resource-limited settings.

Dr. Elizabeth Igaga said Capnography has safeguarded surgical patients in the United States for over 30 years and yet, until now, this lifesaving monitoring tool has unfortunately remained inaccessible for most operating rooms in Africa

Igaga said that the availability of the affordable Smile Train-Lifebox Capnograph is the first significant step to bridge this gap.

“We hope the WHO takes urgent steps to amend the guidelines for capnography use in safe anesthesia, enabling its rapid adoption by low- and middle-income countries. Let’s close this gap and ensure that every surgical patient, regardless of their location, receives the care they deserve.

“For more than a decade Smile Train has worked with Lifebox to equip hospitals across the globe with essential monitoring tools for children undergoing surgery,” said Smile Train President & CEO Susannah Schaefer. “The launch of the Smile Train-Lifebox Capnograph will have a transformative impact on the safety of every child with cleft undergoing surgery – strengthening surgical safety for all surgical patients as a result.”