Third Mirpurkhas National Seminar in Gastroenterology & Hepatology was observed at Muhammad Medical College (MMC) Mirpurkhas. It was very well attended by medical students and doctors from MMC and from within Mirpurkhas. A larger number of doctors from some other medical colleges in Sindh and other cities also attended this full day CME. As always, the registration of this seminar was completely free.
The programme started off with recitation of verses from Holy Quran. Vice Principal MMC, Dr. Shamsul Arfeen Khan had this honour. Prof. Dr. S. Zafar Abbas then introduced the Speakers to the audience and gave an outline of the day’s programme. Prof. Aqeel Rajput, Head department of Medicine, MMC, welcomed the guests and expressed his hopes that the seminar would achive all its objectives. Dr. Zulfiqar Husain of LUMHS presented a talk on “Gastro- Oesophageal Reflux Disease”. He described the clinical features of the disease, the diagnostic measures and various treatment options, including endoscopic treatment. Prof. Abdul Qayyum of Peoples Medical College , Nawabshah, talked on “ Helicobacter Pylori and its associated diseases”. He described in detail the history of discovery of this bacterium. He then discussed its diagnostic means and eradication treatment options. Prof. Sadik Memon of ISRA Medical University, Hyderabad discussed “Coeliac Disease” He emphasized upon the need of raising awareness of this disease among all, especially doctors. He discussed the diagnostic and therapeutic options and explained the results of some research work done by himself on this subject. Prof. Noor Muhammad Memon of MMC spoke on “Infections in GIT”. He threw light on the importance of this problem, especially in this region. He said this was a common problem here, and tried to remove some common confusions in this regard. Prof. Syed Zafar Abbas of MMC talked about “Acute Upper GI Bleed”. Comparing the results of some research work done at MMC with those of western countries, he explained that the commonest cause of this problem here was bleeding oesophageal varices in contrast to bleeding peptic ulcer in the west. In particular he discussed the diagnostic and therapeutic value of upper GI endoscopy, and use of some pharmacological options in this regard.
Prof. Ghulam Ali Memon of MMC represented Prof. Syed Razi Muhammad and presented seminar shields and Ajraks, as well as some publications of MMC to the speakers. In the tea break that followed, the participants were served the famous mangoes of Mirpurkhas!
After tea break. Prof. Husnain Ali Shah, Chair Department of Gastroenterology of The Aga Khan University gave a presentation of Hepatitis C. He stressed upon the importance of phrase “prevention is better than cure” and discussed some modes of infection of Hepatitis C virus. He discussed various diagnostic tests and therapeutic options for naïve patients and non-responders. Prof. Wasim Jafri of The Aga Khan University discussed the basic facts and figures of hepatitis B and its diagnostic tests. The discussed the appropriateness and otherwise of the treatment for this infection. He said that vaccination to prevent this infection are widely available and everyone must get them. However, he explained that the curative treatment was not possible at present for a vast majority of patients. However, it was possible to suppress the viral replication in the majority.
“Dr. Syed Ali Muhammad Memorial Lecture” is now a regular feature at MMC. At least once a year a prominent figure is invited to deliver this lecture on a topic of interest. This year, immediately following the above seminar, Prof. Wasim Jafri delivered a talk on “Educating for Performance Improvement – CME Planning and Outcome Measurement” Emphasizing on the importance of CME, he stressed upon the need of planning such programmes properly so that the objective of imparting quality education and achieving its aims are obtained. He discussed various tools to achieve these aims. At the end of his talk, he distributed a survey / questionnaire among participants regarding this topic.
Prof. Ghulam Ali Memon then distributed the honourary Shield, Ajraks and a pack of MMC publications among all the speakers. He thanked the audience for attending the seminar, and praised Getz Pharma for its role and its help in organizing such educational programmes. Lunch was served at the end of the programme to all participants.
Earlier, shields, publication set of the College and Sindh’s traditional gift of Ajrak were presented to all speakers by Professor Ghulam Ali Memon, Professor Noor Muhammad Memon, Professor Captain Rasheed, Professor Abdul Rahim Siyal, Dr. Qamar Habib, Dr. Abdullah Memon and Professor Syed Razi Muhammad. Professor Razi Muhammad also distributed shields of Honour among many distinguished guests including presidents of PMA of nearby cities. Professor Syed Zafar Abbas thanked all the audience, speakers, doctors, organizers, workers and Getz Pharma for sponsoring this seminar.