Macter's Clinical Excellence & Leadership Program (CELP)

Dr Shahid Noor, Dr Zaki Idrees, Dr Intikhab Toufeeq address the Second Session of National CME Series 2008 held at LNH

KARACHI: The second session of the National CME Series (Jan-Dec 2008) for family physicians under Macter's Clinical Excellence & Leadership Program (CELP) was held at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi on 28 February and was attended by around 300 family physicians, PGs and house officers.

The session was focused on Orthopaedics and was addressed by renowned orthopaedic consultants and LNH faculty members Dr Shahid Noor, Dr Zaki Idrees and Dr Intikhab Toufeeq. Others who spoke on the occasion were Haroon Ahmed Malik, Director and Head of Commercial, Macter International, Dr Salman Faridi, Consultant General Surgery and former Medical Director, Liaquat National Hospital, and Dr Zakiuddin Ahmed, Medical Director, Macter International.

This one-year certificate CME series—comprising 12 monthly sessions covering 16 key specialties in 33 lecture units—will offer latest updates on diagnosis and treatment of some of the most important medicine and allied topics and diseases seen by family physicians on daily basis. Each CME session will be held on the last Thursday of every month at LNH's main auditorium.

Dr Shahid Noor's presentation in the CME session was on the topic of Osteoarthritis who apprised the participants that it was not simply a degenerative disease but the process of Osteoarthritis involves both biological and mechanical events. He said that of the rheumatic disorders the prevalence of Osteoarthritis is 40 per cent. He elaborated upon Disease Modifying Agents for the management and treatment of Osteoarthritis such as Glucosamine Sulphate, which is an important component of human cartilage and helps in providing elasticity and shock-absorbing capability to the joints.

Dr Zaki Idrees spoke on Rheumatoid Arthritis, which he informed affects 3 per cent of population and is more prevalent in females, with female to male ratio of 3:1. He stressed upon the use of splintage and postural trainings to prevent deformity in patients of Rheumatoid Arthritis at an early stage. He said that at the GP level special emphasis should be given on patient education regarding the use of walkers, walking sticks and other mechanical aids available. He also urged the GPs to educate patients to remove the misconceptions regarding the use of steroids. He was of the view that support from the family and friends can play a pivotal role in patient rehabilitation.

Dr Intikhab Toufeeq delivered his lecture on Low Back Pain. He said that low back is the second most common cause of disability in the US. In 85 per cent patients the definitive diagnosis can not be made due to weak association between symptoms, pathological changes, and the imaging results. He said that the myth of long-term rest in this condition should be removed by the family physicians through proper counseling as the patient should do regular exercise and carry out routine activities in a normal way. He pointed out that unnecessary X-rays should be avoided and should be done in patients with less than 20 years of age or greater than 50 years of age. In the rest of the age group the X-rays should be considered only if the pain continues for more than two months.

The presentations were followed by an interactive Q&A session.

The next CME session to be held on 27 March 2008 at the same venue will cover issues and updates on Endocrinology and Diabetes and will be addressed by Dr Khalid Imam, Dr Zakir Alvi and Dr Mehfooz Alam.