-Speaker-

Dr. Kenneth Sodeng

Medical Officer and Leader, Unit 4 Internal Medicine Team, Port Moresby General Hospital

Speaker's Biography

Dr. Kenneth Sodeng, Medical Officer and leader of the Unit 4 Internal Medicine team of Port Moresby General Hospital, has vast experience in Internal Medicine and knows well about the health status of people living in PNG. He is one of the outstanding young doctors in PNG. His career as an internal medicine physician started at ANGAU Memorial General Hospital, Lae, Morobe Province since 2009. During 2017-2019, he was employed as Specialist Medical Officer in Internal Medicine at the Kavieng Provincial Hospital, New Ireland Province. And Dr. Sodeng was also appointed as the leader of the Covid-19 Response team to East New Britain Province to investigated the chain of infection at the beginning of the outbreak.

Topic

Diabetes Mellitus: the Port Moresby General Hospital Experience

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is on the rise in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Before the late1980s, infectious diseases such as Malaria, Typhoid, and Tuberculosis were the predominant diseases treated at most health facilities around PNG. But as the years went by and more people adopting the Western lifestyle, non-communicable diseases, including DM, started to go up. As per the audit report for Port Moresby General Hospital for the last five years, DM was ranked among the top 10 diseases for admission and death.

The main complication seen amongst diabetic patients treated by the Internal Medicine Division of PMGH is Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Sadly, the treatment for CKD is almost non-existent in the PNG context. The only dialysis unit in PNG is situated in Port Moresby city but has a strict criterion for CKD patient admission and treatment.

With the recent Covid-19 Pandemic, deaths among covid-19 patients admitted to PMGH were higher in those with coexisting DM. Of the total covid-19 related deaths (68) reported at PMGH, 41% (28) had to coexist DM. PNG still has a long road ahead in terms of managing chronic complications of DM.

Slide and Additional Information

Link: https://reurl.cc/kZ7RWr