100 Guyanese being targeted for pilot risk assessment study -in quest to determine vulnerability to renal failure

Dec 02, 2018 News

A total of 100 individuals are being targeted to determine their vulnerability to renal failure. The venture is one that will see the Doobay Medical and Research Centre [DMRC] collaborating with McMaster University’s Population Health Research Institute to conduct a risk factor assessment.
This tactical move, according to Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay, Head of DMRC, is designed to target persons unaware of conditions they have that could contribute to renal failure.
“This assessment is to determine whether they [participants] have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, and we at the centre will provide this service free of cost to them,” said Dr. Doobay. In fact, he disclosed that participants will be eligible for free medication should the assessment find them to be at risk.
Plans to conduct the survey were announced Thursday at a press conference held at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, which saw the attendance of other executive members of DMRC and Programme Manager of the Population Health Research Institute, Ms. Dipika Desai.
According to Desai, “It is important to study the actual risk factors of what brings people to end stage renal failure.” She pointed out that the research, which is likely to span a period of one year was seen as an important move, since such information is currently lacking in Guyana. “We did a little bit of literature review and we try to understand what we can to see what published research there is about Guyana, but unfortunately we didn’t find much, and so we said that’s what we have to do…build a baseline,” said Desai.
The risk assessment targeting the 100 individuals will in fact be a pilot study and, according to Desai, “A lot of large research studies we have done, we start with a pilot study to assess the ability to do the study properly before we start on a wider scale.”
Desai revealed too that plans were in place to commence the process this week, since approval has been granted by the Canada-based Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board which covers McMaster University and the Hamilton Health Sciences. The venture has also been endorsed by the local Ministry of Public Health, Desai shared.

Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay [second from right]; Ms Dipika Desai [third from right] and executive members of the Doobay Medical Centre during Thursday’s press conference.

Tasked with oversight of the research will be Dr. Baldeo Singh, who is currently attached to the Annandale, East Coast Demerara Medical Centre. According to Desai, Dr. Singh, who was trained at McMaster University, has the capability to attend to the participants of the assessment. Other staffers of the Doobay Medical Centre are also being trained to support the process.
“In this study we are going to focus more on people who are not dialysis patients…people who are generally among the healthy population. So anybody from the general population is welcomed to come and get screened,” Desai noted.
As part of the screening process, persons will be subjected to some physical measurement, including that of their height, weight, waist and hip, which is essential to determine their belly fat which, Desai said, is the highest risk fat.
“We will do blood pressure measurement to get an assessment on what is the level of hypertension in this population and we will do some blood work, and the blood will be analysed at the Doobay Medical Research Centre,” she noted.
Once the necessary information is collected, Desai said that it will be used to calculate what is called the Framingham Coronary Heart Disease Risk Score. This score, Desai said, can be used to estimate an individual’s risk of having a heart attack in the near future and is a widely used by the World Health Organisation and many other institutes.
“We will then use a defined protocol that was developed with WHO and another study done by the Population Health Research Institute and we are going to use that protocol to try and train the staff members to screen participants and assess their risk as well as recommend treatment options. If medical treatment is required then that medical treatment will be reviewed and approved by a physician,” Desaid explained. She divulged too that the data which will be collected electronically will be managed and monitored from Canada. However, the data will also be shared with the Public Health Ministry so that efforts can be employed to better address the country’s renal failure situation.

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