The Met Needs for Pediatric Surgical Conditions in Sierra Leone : Estimating the Gap
(2018) In World Journal of Surgery 42(3). p.652-665- Abstract
Background: In low- and middle-income countries, there is a gap between the need for surgery and its equitable provision, and a lack of proxy indicators to estimate this gap. Sierra Leone is a West African country with close to three million children. It is unknown to what extent the surgical needs of these children are met. Aim: To describe a nationwide provision of pediatric surgical procedures and to assess pediatric hernia repair as a proxy indicator for the shortage of surgical care in the pediatric population in Sierra Leone. Methods: We analyzed results from a nationwide facility survey in Sierra Leone that collected data on surgical procedures from operation and anesthesia logbooks in all facilities performing surgery. We... (More)
Background: In low- and middle-income countries, there is a gap between the need for surgery and its equitable provision, and a lack of proxy indicators to estimate this gap. Sierra Leone is a West African country with close to three million children. It is unknown to what extent the surgical needs of these children are met. Aim: To describe a nationwide provision of pediatric surgical procedures and to assess pediatric hernia repair as a proxy indicator for the shortage of surgical care in the pediatric population in Sierra Leone. Methods: We analyzed results from a nationwide facility survey in Sierra Leone that collected data on surgical procedures from operation and anesthesia logbooks in all facilities performing surgery. We included data on all patients under the age of 16 years undergoing surgery. Primary outcomes were rate and volume of surgical procedures. We calculated the expected number of inguinal hernia in children and estimated the unmet need for hernia repair. Results: In 2012, a total of 2381 pediatric surgical procedures were performed in Sierra Leone. The rate of pediatric surgical procedures was 84 per 100,000 children 0–15 years of age. The most common pediatric surgical procedure was hernia repair (18%), corresponding to a rate of 16 per 100,000 children 0–15 years of age. The estimated unmet need for inguinal hernia repair was 88%. Conclusions: The rate of pediatric surgery in Sierra Leone was very low, and inguinal hernia was the single most common procedure noted among children in Sierra Leone.
(Less)
- author
- Burgos, Carmen Mesas ; Bolkan, Håkon Angell ; Bash-Taqi, Donald ; Hagander, Lars LU and von Screeb, Johan
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- World Journal of Surgery
- volume
- 42
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 652 - 665
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:28932917
- scopus:85029590672
- ISSN
- 0364-2313
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00268-017-4244-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ed5ff913-4b56-4ad0-b492-9a5b0915e6fd
- date added to LUP
- 2017-10-11 16:34:12
- date last changed
- 2024-09-16 10:17:28
@article{ed5ff913-4b56-4ad0-b492-9a5b0915e6fd, abstract = {{<p>Background: In low- and middle-income countries, there is a gap between the need for surgery and its equitable provision, and a lack of proxy indicators to estimate this gap. Sierra Leone is a West African country with close to three million children. It is unknown to what extent the surgical needs of these children are met. Aim: To describe a nationwide provision of pediatric surgical procedures and to assess pediatric hernia repair as a proxy indicator for the shortage of surgical care in the pediatric population in Sierra Leone. Methods: We analyzed results from a nationwide facility survey in Sierra Leone that collected data on surgical procedures from operation and anesthesia logbooks in all facilities performing surgery. We included data on all patients under the age of 16 years undergoing surgery. Primary outcomes were rate and volume of surgical procedures. We calculated the expected number of inguinal hernia in children and estimated the unmet need for hernia repair. Results: In 2012, a total of 2381 pediatric surgical procedures were performed in Sierra Leone. The rate of pediatric surgical procedures was 84 per 100,000 children 0–15 years of age. The most common pediatric surgical procedure was hernia repair (18%), corresponding to a rate of 16 per 100,000 children 0–15 years of age. The estimated unmet need for inguinal hernia repair was 88%. Conclusions: The rate of pediatric surgery in Sierra Leone was very low, and inguinal hernia was the single most common procedure noted among children in Sierra Leone.</p>}}, author = {{Burgos, Carmen Mesas and Bolkan, Håkon Angell and Bash-Taqi, Donald and Hagander, Lars and von Screeb, Johan}}, issn = {{0364-2313}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{652--665}}, publisher = {{Springer}}, series = {{World Journal of Surgery}}, title = {{The Met Needs for Pediatric Surgical Conditions in Sierra Leone : Estimating the Gap}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00268-017-4244-8}}, doi = {{10.1007/s00268-017-4244-8}}, volume = {{42}}, year = {{2018}}, }