Doctor gives diagnosis of hope for patients in South Sudan

JUBA－Xu Qingtian, a 35-year-old Chinese medical doctor, is using his smartphone connected to an endoscope to detect ear, nose and throat, or ENT, diseases among patients in South Sudan's Juba Teaching Hospital.

Xu, who is a member of the ninth Chinese medical team that has been dispatched to South Sudan, is the first ENT specialist to be sent to the African country.

He says in Juba that he and his South Sudanese counterparts have been able to instantly examine and detect tonsillitis, and otitis media, also known as middle ear infection, among patients.

"Ear diseases are largely caused by inflammation after water enters the ear. Other diseases like gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occur when stomach acid frequently flows back into the tube connecting mouth and stomach," Xu says after examining a patient.

"We carry out endoscopy using a smartphone to scan all parts of the body, and can use it to detect the source of nosebleeds, itching, middle ear infections, and tonsillitis," Xu says.

He reveals that about 20 patients turn up at his office every morning, adding that most of the children he examines suffer from middle ear infections.

Xu, a graduate of Wannan medical college in Anhui province, says many of his elderly patients suffer from gastric reflux, fungal infection in the ear and nosebleeds.

"We do give the patients medicine to treat their ailments, but for some people with thyroid disorders, who are required to undergo further examination, we send them to the laboratory," he says.

Francis Sooka, a South Sudanese ENT specialist working with Xu, says the medical department, which was set up last year, is helping to treat local patients, adding that Xu's modern equipment has been a welcome addition.

"We have a lot of children who turn up with foreign bodies present in the ear and nose, and our environment is dusty, so we have a lot of allergies, sinusitis and cases of thyroid disorders," says Sooka. "He (Xu) has helped us in diagnosing patients. We have our own instruments, but some of his are very modern, especially the autoscopy, which has helped us to achieve the right diagnoses."

Sooka says that before giving a diagnosis to any of their patients, they first consult each other to find consensus and ensure accuracy. The ENT department within the main referral hospital in Juba is run by four staff members.

Xinhua