ABU DHABI // Hospitals have been urged to improve protection for patients from infections after surgery.
Mothers whose babies are delivered by Caesarean section, one of the most common surgical procedures, are at particular risk of “surgical site infections” – which affect the part of the body that was operated on.
Procedures need to be established to minimise the risk for patients as they recover from an operation, said Dr Nellie Boma, chief medical officer at Al Rahba Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
“No patient should come to a hospital and fall ill, or worse, die,” she said.
“In my opinion, surgical site infections in Caesareans are the most frequent cause for women to contract infections in the operating room. To prevent or limit infection after the operation, strict infection control policies must be implemented.”
Caesareans, or C-sections, are classified as high-risk operations, but The National reported this year that many women were opting for surgery over natural delivery because they feared the pain of childbirth. One Dubai hospital said C-section rates were almost double the global recommended figure.
Surgical site infections after C-sections can significantly prolong hospital stays or even increase morbidity rates, said Mohamed Hamad, infections control manager at the hospital management company VPS Healthcare.
“A woman who has had a Caesarean should be able to go home in a week, but if they get an infection they might have to stay there for a month,” he said.
“Also, the longer they stay at the hospital the more they are exposed to infections.”
“Before operating on a patient, it is important to use a hand scrub properly and for at least three to five minutes. If the proper technique is not used, it can be dangerous for the patient.
“Ideally, a patient should be admitted to the hospital on the day of the operation or the day before it, to reduce their exposure to infections.”
He said the operating theatre should be divided into different zones, such as a clean zone, sterile zone and disposal zone, to prevent bacteria spreading. The patient should be operated on only in the sterile zone.
He said maintaining temperature and humidity were vitally important.
“Also, for hair removal, creams or clippers should be used instead of razors,” said Mr Hamad. “Though these practices are the norm in many hospitals, any neglect or ignoring these concerns has an adverse effect on the patient.”
Another system is the “bundle of care” approach, which entails monitoring the temperature or blood-sugar level of a patient, providing prescribed antibiotics at the right time and other measures.
“We are working on a new model in which we are trying to educate the patients so that they can look after themselves once they go home after the operation. Within two to three days after the operation, we invite the patients for post-discharge outreach call, when we ask them questions about how they maintain hygiene,” said Dr Boma.
“This is also an opportunity to give them educational material on taking care of their dressing.
“Patients should also take care of their hygiene. Often, we have people coming for operations without bathing or shaving,” said Mr Hamad.
Dr Boma will be speaking about the prevention of surgical site infection at a conference in Dubai next month.
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Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Honeymoonish
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THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
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The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
