Prof Chris Lundgren was the Editor-in-Chief of the Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia (SAJAA) for a remarkable 14 years from 2001-2015. Under her excellent guidance, the journal has developed and grown to the point that the Academy of Science for South Africa’s (ASSAf) review of scholarly publishing in South Africa found SAJAA to be worthy of continued accreditation with the Department of Higher Education and Training.Citation1 During her editorship, applications were made to Medline and Thomson Reuters for inclusion in their databases, which were unsuccessful unfortunately. However, they generated useful feedback on both how to improve the standard of the journal and the importance thereof. The quality of the journal and the published articles has improved through subsequent implementation of these recommendations.
From a public health perspective, an important observation by ASSAf and Medline was that SAJAA published good, clinically relevant research for anaesthetists in developing countries and within the African region. In this context, SAJAA has a valuable role to play in continuing to provide a platform for African (and developing world) research in perioperative outcomes. The global volume of surgery is now in excess of 230 million major surgical procedures per year,Citation2 with an associated 30-day mortality in unselected non-cardiac surgical patients of between 2% and 4%.Citation3,4 Global annual mortality following unselected noncardiac surgery is between five and 10 million deaths per annum. Therefore, surgery presents a major public health burden.
However, surgery is necessary. The Lancet’s Commission on Global Surgery was established to define safe surgery and to develop strategies to ensure the adequate provision of safe surgery.Citation5,6 This is because surgery is a cost-effective intervention,Citation7 even in low- to middle-income countries,Citation8 and as such, is considered a core component of health.Citation6
Unfortunately, Africa and the developing world have contributed little to understanding the determinants of perioperative outcomes. This is particularly disappointing as approximately 40% of global surgery occurs in poor- to middle-income countries.Citation2 As anaesthetists in Africa, we need to focus on the strengths identified by ASSAf and Medline, and continue to produce good clinical research which focuses on perioperative outcomes in an African context. It is here that we can make our greatest contribution to improving global public health.
Editor-in-Chief: SAJAA
References
- Academy of Science for South Africa. Report on grouped peer review of scholarly journals in the health sciences and related medical fields. ASSAf [homepage on the Internet]. 2014. c2015. Available from: http://www.assaf.co.za/evidence-based-reports/health-science-30-9-2014-2/
- Weiser TG, Regenbogen SE, Thompson KD, et al. An estimation of the global volume of surgery: a modelling strategy based on available data. Lancet. 2008;372(9633):139–144.
- Devereaux PJ, Chan MT, Alonso-Coello P, et al. Association between postoperative troponin levels and 30-day mortality among patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. JAMA. 2012;307(21):2295–2304.
- Pearse RM, Moreno RP, Bauer P, et al. Mortality after surgery in Europe: a 7 day cohort study. Lancet. 2012;380(9847):1059–1065.
- Meara JG, Hagander L, Leather AJ. Surgery and global health: a Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2014;383(9911):12–13.
- Dare AJ, Grimes CE, Gillies R, et al. Global surgery: defining an emerging global health field. Lancet. 2014;384(9961):2245–2247.
- Chao TE, Sharma K, Mandigo M, et al. Cost-effectiveness of surgery and its policy implications for global health: a systematic review and analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2014;2(6):e334–e345.
- Grimes CE, Henry JA, Maraka J, et al. Cost-effectiveness of surgery in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. World J Surg. 2014;38(1):252–263.