BACKGROUND: The global burden of surgical disease has not been well quantified, but is potentially immense. Given the enormity of the problem and the relative paucity of data, definition and monitoring of surgical burden of disease is an essential step in confronting the problem. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of non-acute surgical disease symptoms in a low-income population. METHODS: The survey was conducted as part of the Indus Hospital Community Cohort in Karachi, Pakistan. A systematic random sampling design was used to enroll 667 households from March to August 2011. An unvalidated questionnaire intending to measure prevalence of surgical symptoms was administered to 780 participants. RESULTS: 761 participants completed the screening questionnaire, with 346 (45%) reporting one or more symptoms requiring surgical assessment (excluding those screened positive for symptoms of osteoarthritis), of which only 8.4% followed up on scheduled appointments at the referral hospital. A total of 126 past surgical procedures were recorded in 120 participants. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of symptoms suggestive of surgical diseases in our urban catchment population with relatively convenient access to health facilities including a tertiary care hospital providing free of cost care. The perceived severity of symptoms, and a complex interaction of other factors, may play an important role in understanding health seeking behavior in our population. Developing a context-specific validated tool to correctly identify surgical symptoms disease in the community with appropriate referral for early management is essential to identify and therefore reduce the burden of surgical diseases within the community. This must happen hand in hand with further studies to understand the barriers to seeking timely health care.
BACKGROUND: The global burden of surgical disease has not been well quantified, but is potentially immense. Given the enormity of the problem and the relative paucity of data, definition and monitoring of surgical burden of disease is an essential step in confronting the problem. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of non-acute surgical disease symptoms in a low-income population. METHODS: The survey was conducted as part of the Indus Hospital Community Cohort in Karachi, Pakistan. A systematic random sampling design was used to enroll 667 households from March to August 2011. An unvalidated questionnaire intending to measure prevalence of surgical symptoms was administered to 780 participants. RESULTS: 761 participants completed the screening questionnaire, with 346 (45%) reporting one or more symptoms requiring surgical assessment (excluding those screened positive for symptoms of osteoarthritis), of which only 8.4% followed up on scheduled appointments at the referral hospital. A total of 126 past surgical procedures were recorded in 120 participants. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of symptoms suggestive of surgical diseases in our urban catchment population with relatively convenient access to health facilities including a tertiary care hospital providing free of cost care. The perceived severity of symptoms, and a complex interaction of other factors, may play an important role in understanding health seeking behavior in our population. Developing a context-specific validated tool to correctly identify surgical symptoms disease in the community with appropriate referral for early management is essential to identify and therefore reduce the burden of surgical diseases within the community. This must happen hand in hand with further studies to understand the barriers to seeking timely health care.
Authors: Reinou S Groen; Mohamed Samai; Robin T Petroze; Thaim B Kamara; Sahr E Yambasu; James F Calland; T Peter Kingham; Thomas M Guterbock; Barbara Choo; Adam L Kushner Journal: World J Surg Date: 2012-04 Impact factor: 3.352
Authors: Reinou S Groen; Mohamed Samai; Kerry-Ann Stewart; Laura D Cassidy; Thaim B Kamara; Sahr E Yambasu; T Peter Kingham; Adam L Kushner Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-08-14 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Thomas G Weiser; Scott E Regenbogen; Katherine D Thompson; Alex B Haynes; Stuart R Lipsitz; William R Berry; Atul A Gawande Journal: Lancet Date: 2008-06-24 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Sam Luboga; Sarah B Macfarlane; Johan von Schreeb; Margaret E Kruk; Meena N Cherian; Staffan Bergström; Paul B M Bossyns; Ernest Denerville; Delanyo Dovlo; Moses Galukande; Renee Y Hsia; Sudha P Jayaraman; Lindsey A Lubbock; Charles Mock; Doruk Ozgediz; Patrick Sekimpi; Andreas Wladis; Ahmed Zakariah; Naméoua Babadi Dade; Peter Donkor; Jane Kabutu Gatumbu; Patrick Hoekman; Carel B Ijsselmuiden; Dean T Jamison; Nasreen Jessani; Peter Jiskoot; Ignatius Kakande; Jacqueline R Mabweijano; Naboth Mbembati; Colin McCord; Cephas Mijumbi; Helder de Miranda; Charles A Mkony; Pascoal Mocumbi; Jean Bosco Ndihokubwayo; Pierre Ngueumachi; Gebreamlak Ogbaselassie; Evariste Lodi Okitombahe; Cheikh Tidiane Toure; Fernando Vaz; Charlotte M Zikusooka; Haile T Debas Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2009-12-22 Impact factor: 11.069
Authors: Faisal S Khan; Ismat Lotia-Farrukh; Aamir J Khan; Saad Tariq Siddiqui; Sana Zehra Sajun; Amyn Abdul Malik; Aziza Burfat; Mohammad Hussham Arshad; Andrew J Codlin; Belinda M Reininger; Joseph B McCormick; Nadeem Afridi; Susan P Fisher-Hoch Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-02-13 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Deron C Burton; Brendan Flannery; Bernard Onyango; Charles Larson; Jane Alaii; Xingyou Zhang; Mary J Hamel; Robert F Breiman; Daniel R Feikin Journal: J Health Popul Nutr Date: 2011-02 Impact factor: 2.000