Workshop on treatment of substance abuse patients concludes

Rawalpindi
Intravenous drug use is a definitive and major risk factor for getting Hepatitis B and C and so every single drug abuser should be screened and once diagnosed, the cases should be referred to a trained hematologist to prevent end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Rawalpindi Medical College Principal and Chief Executive Allied Hospitals Professor Muhammad Umar expressed this while addressing the participants of a five-day workshop titled ‘National Workshop on Treatnet Training of Trainers’ concluded here on Friday at the Institute of Psychiatry in Benazir Bhutto Hospital.
The Institute of Psychiatry and WHO Collaborating Centre on Mental Health in collaboration with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized the workshop for training of trainers on treatment of patients of substance abuse.
Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony Professor Umar delivered an informative lecture on ‘Substance Abuse and Hepatitis’ highlighting the multi-disciplinary approach required to aid patients of substance abuse.
He traced the history of addiction back to 7,000 BC. Afghanistan, he said, is currently the chief producer of opium; Pakistan being a neighboring country is most at risk thereby. An alarming 10 million drug abusers around the world are estimated to have Hepatitis C, he said.
He added that according to a Department of Health and Disease survey, 60 per cent of 30,000 new cases of Hepatitis C and 17 per cent of 73,000 cases of Hepatitis B were Intravenous Drug Users.
According to Drug users in Pakistan survey report 2014, 4.25 million Pakistanis were drug abusers and the annual prevalence has been steadily rising, he said.
He said to control spread of hepatitis B and C, it is a must to control IV drug abuse in the country. He concluded the session by informing the participants about the state of the art facilities available at his department in the Holy Family Hospital for the treatment of patients with liver disease for Pakistani public. He appreciated the efforts of the organizers of workshop and offered his continued assistance in endeavors of health care and education. He was especially appreciative to the efforts of Head of Institute of Psychiatry Professor Fareed A Minhas for putting RMC on the international map by engaging in such activities.
The fifth and final day of the workshop saw the participants visiting the Institute of Psychiatry as a model detoxification center. They got a chance to see the practical implantation of most of what they had learnt over the course of the workshop.
The concluding session started with a presentation of a case report by Academic Registrar at the Institute Dr. Zainab Nawaz. Her case detailed the tragic events of the life of a patient of opioids and benzodiazepine abuse. She discussed the symptoms of his addiction and negative impact they had on his and his family’s life. The challenges in treating him and how they were overcome came under discussion. The particular obstacles of treating patients subject to multiple drug addictions were highlighted. The participants made the session interactive by sharing their insights.
Dr. Manzoor ul Haq from UNODC updated the audience on the activities of UNODC in Pakistan. In particular he appreciated the efforts of the Institute of Psychiatry as a forerunner in supporting the cause of mental health.
Professor Fareed A. Minhas apprised the guests on the modus operandi over the past few days to train the trainers from around the country. He was appreciative of the efforts of UNODC to curtail ever growing nuisance created by drug abuse.
He stressed upon the role of such workshops to provide cutting edge training to participants so they can provide their patients the best care in tune with the latest developments in the field. He also highlighted the challenges faced by the Institute in piloting the research for Oral Substitution Therapy. According to him, the provision of OST is need of the time as majority of patients of substance abuse respond well to the protocol. In the end, certificates were distributed among participants of the workshop.