Bishkek Physicians Use Internet to Solicit Advice on Brain Scans

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In 1993, a 17-year-old patient in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan began experiencing severe headaches and blurred vision in her left eye. By 1996, her headaches became increasingly worse and frequent, and her physicians suspected a possible link with a childhood fall that resulted in a concussion.

The patient underwent a series of CT scans and MRIs at the Bishkek Institute of Oncology and Radiology. Her physicians discovered that she had a sizable mass of tissue in her left temporal lobe that may have caused the seizures. Yet, the images did not allow the physicians to make a conclusive diagnosis.

Physicians subsequently enlisted the support of Galina Sergeeva, information coordinator for the partnership in Bishkek. Sergeeva immediately sent the patient's diagnostic images and case history to AIHA partners throughout the NIS and US for a second opinion by way of the Internet. Within minutes, the patient's case history, CT and MRI scans were on the desk of US partners at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) in Kansas City and 25 other AIHA partner hospitals around the world.

Neurosurgeons at City Hospital in Almaty, Kazakstan provided insight into similar cases involving seizures and possible treatment options, as did physicians from partner hospitals in Orlando, Florida; Chisinau, Moldova; and St. Petersburg, Russia. Partners at KUMC provided a detailed consult on the cyst, determined it was benign and sent copies of the latest medical text on diagnosing cysts of the brain to their colleagues in Bishkek.

"The Internet brings medical professionals around the world together, and is so important in my profession," Sergeeva said.

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