Management of enterocutaneous fistula in Nepal

Management of enterocutaneous fistula in Nepal

S. Bajracharya

ET Abstract:

Mananagement of Enterocutaneous fistula is one of the difficult challenges that ET nurses have to encounter while managing surgical patients. These patients require meticulous and comprehensive nursing care. These patients are known to have high morbidity/mortality. From 1996 we have been able to provide services to those patients through charitable clinic at our centers, altogether about 4000 including 30-40/year enterocutaneous faecal fistula patients have availed those services and the demands are ever increasing. Recently there have been many discoveries, which have enabled medical and nursing and medical staffs to deal with these patients more effectively. But still developing countries like Nepal lag behind compared to other countries because of lack of trained manpower, awareness among medical staffs, lack of fistula bag, economical status.  In Nepal almost 85% of fistulae are due to post operative bowel surgery. Others like traumatic, malignant, inflammatory causes are also there.

These problems that we encounter in our health care scenario are highlighted with case examples.