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07 January 2018
Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Anneke van der Spoel van Dijk is invested in contributing
to the global effort of stopping TB by 2035.
The work of Dr Anneke van der Spoel van Dijk investigates the spread of TB in the Free State population using techniques such as next generation sequencing, spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk, a senior medical scientist in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of the Free State (UFS) also looks at drug resistance in her research. This work informs decisions about how best to treat patients with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).
She employs rapid molecular techniques to track one of Africa’s most serious diseases, tuberculosis (TB).
Drug resistance
Scientists assist the National Health Laboratory Service and Department of Health in trying to refine the diagnostic tools to identify these cases earlier. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk explains: “Until recently, it took up to two years to fine-tune treatment decisions for patients with MDR-TB. Patients get a cocktail of anti-TB drugs, but it takes time to find the right combination. Re-infection and relapse (patients stopping treatment for several reasons) add to the diagnostic and treatment management challenges.
Enormous impact
“Now doctors can reduce the time needed for diagnostic certainty to about seven days, while new drugs allow reduction of treatment from more than 18 to nine months. This can have an enormous impact on the life of many patients.”
Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk’s work forms part of research in the faculty looking at resistance development in TB strains. She is currently also doing her doctoral thesis on the differences and incidence of MDR-TB among adolescents versus adults. Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk says: “It is a complicated picture, but we hope to unravel it to support better diagnostic tools and patient care.”
As part of the National Health Laboratory Service, her department is playing an important role in TB diagnostics and the training of scientists and future pathologists. “Our work is contributing to the global vision to stop TB by 2035,” Dr Van der Spoel van Dijk says.
Department of Anaesthesiology integral to success of annual congress of South African Society of Anaesthesiologists
2016-03-18
The honour of hosting the annual congress of South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) fell to the Free State branch this year. Integral to organising the event –and even more so, successfully convening more than 550 delegates from across the country – was the University of the Free Sate (UFS) Department of Anaesthesiology.
Perioperative medicine
The main theme of the congress that took place from 26 February–1 March 2016 focused on perioperative medicine. This relates to medical practice before, during, and after surgery, that enhances the hospital experience for patients. This includes making their stay as short and pleasant as possible. Anaesthesiologists are perioperative physicians who are well positioned to play a major role in this process.
International specialists
Prof Henrik Kehlet was the official SASA Guest for 2016 and keynote speaker of the congress. He is currently a professor of perioperative therapy at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prof Kehlet has received honorary recognition from various colleges and associations in America and the United Kingdom. He has published over 1000 scientific articles, and is known as the worldwide expert on fast-track surgery, with the aim of achieving fast and pain-free operations.
Workshops on various aspects of perioperative care were presented during the congress with 41 companies exhibiting medical equipment and medicines related to anaesthesia. With 14 international and 69 national speakers, the event brought together some of the top specialists in the world.