Establishing Interventional Radiology in a Low-Resource Setting: Lessons From Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Interventional Radiology
• Healthcare Delivery in Low-Resource Settings

Background:

• The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC) established an interventional radiology (IR) unit in 2017.
• This initiative aimed to advance healthcare in a Nigerian low-resource setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the establishment process, services, challenges, and innovations of the IR unit at OAUTHC.
• To assess the impact and clinician perceptions of the IR services.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective case study using archival data (2017-2024).
• Structured survey distributed to 51 referring clinicians with a 100% response rate.
• Descriptive data analysis using Microsoft Excel.

Main Results:

• The IR unit expanded from breast interventions to diverse ultrasound- and CT-guided procedures.
• Breast and liver biopsies were the most common referrals.
• Clinicians reported IR reduced surgeries (78.4%) but noted long waiting times (41.2%) and limited options (56.9%).

Conclusions:

• The IR unit significantly improved patient care at OAUTHC.
• This model is replicable for developing sustainable IR programs in similar settings.