Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Tuesday said that patients in Kashmir hospitals face immense hardships due to non-availability of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) which is used to diagnose diseases of digestive and respiratory systems.
Terming it as an essential tool to detect cancer, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan said that patients suffer severely due to lack of EUS.
SKIMS never had one and in SMHS hospital EUS was damaged due to September 2014 floods and has not been replaced yet.
Patients are referred outside state for getting the test done, an option which poor patients cannot afford.
There is alarming rise in number of gastrointestinal and liver disease patients and in absence of EUS, doctors end up on compromise in diagnosis.
The tall claims by government of state-of-art facilities have fallen flat as premier hospitals lack vital instruments.
Promises of high quality patient care have proved hoax as crucial equipments in tertiary care hospitals are missing.
Endoscopic ultrasound is routinely used for diagnosis and staging of various lesions located in and around gastrointestinal tract.
EUS is used to diagnose diseases of pancreas, bile duct and gall bladder when other tests are inconclusive and conflicting.
It allows to accurately assess the extend of cancer and whether it has spread to adjacent lymph glands or nearby vital structures like blood vessels.
The gadget offers the option to biopsy lesions and can be used for therapeutic drainage of pseudocyst pancreas, evading open surgery.
It can visualize smaller lesions that cannot be seen with CT scan and there is no exposure to radiation besides it can be performed in patients unable to receive intravenous contrast for their CT scans (due to allergies or kidney problems).
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