R3m tools to help with TB diagnosis
TYGERBERG Hospital recently received R3 million worth of equipment for TB diagnoses, mostly donated by the Rotary Club of Blouberg.
Tygerberg Hospital is the first facility in Africa to have received this equipment, for which R200000 was contributed by the Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust.
With a high rate of TB and other respiratory health issues in the province, this Olympus Paediatric Ultrasound Bronchoscope System will facilitate less invasive treatment for children. It may also support treatment of cancer in adults.
Tygerberg Hospital’s head of clinical paediatric pulmonology, Professor Pierre Goussard explained that bronchoscopy is used to look in the airways.
“Most paediatric TB has lymph nodes sitting outside the airways. This is not visible on bronchoscopy and the scope for adults is far too large for use in children. With the help of radial endoscopic ultrasound, one can locate the lymph nodes with sonar via bronchoscopy. Under ultrasound guidance, a biopsy can be done on these lymph, whereas in the past, open thoracotomy (an invasive surgical procedure) may have been necessary to get to the lymph
“This equipment is expensive and we are very privileged Prof Pierre Goussard Head of Clinical Paediatric Pulmonology
nodes. In adults this is used for the diagnosis of lung cancer,” Goussard said.
According to Stellenbosch University, TB remains the leading cause of death in South Africa, with more than 800 new TB infections every day.
The new equipment is expected to improve the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in small children.
With multidrug-resistant TB on the increase, Goussard, said it was important to get samples for diagnosis, to start the correct treatment early. This equipment will also give the hospital the option to do world-leading paediatric TB and pulmonology research.
Previously, patients would have to be exposed to radiation in order to undergo treatment. The procedure is safe and well tolerated, with no greater side-effects than those of normal bronchoscopy under ultrasound.
“This equipment is expensive, and we are very privileged that the Rotary of Blouberg and Hospital Trust collected the money, with most of the money coming from overseas,” Goussard added.