Prevalence of Pediatric Surgical Conditions Across Somaliland

IMPORTANCE Although surgical conditions are increasingly recognized as causing a significant health care burden among adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the burden of surgical conditions among children in LMICs remains poorly defined. OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of pediatric surgical conditions across Somaliland using a nationwide community-based household survey. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study was conducted through a national community-based sampling survey from August through December 2017 in Somaliland. Participants were 1503 children surveyed using the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The SOSAS survey contains 2 components, including a section on household demographics, deaths, and financial information and sections querying children's history of surgical conditions. RESULTS In this cross-sectional study that included 1503 children (55.6% male; mean [SE] age, 6.4 [0.1] years), 221 surgical conditions were identified among 196 children, yielding a mean (SE) prevalence of pediatric surgical conditions of 12.2%(1.5%). Only 53 of these 221 surgical conditions (23.7%) had been surgically corrected at the time of the survey. The most common conditions encountered were congenital anomalies (33.8%) and wound-related injuries (24.6%). Nationally, an estimated 256 745 children have surgical conditions, with an estimated 88 345 to 199 639 children having unmet surgical needs. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Using national sampling, this study found that children have a high burden of surgical conditions in Somaliland. These data highlight the need for a scale-up of pediatric surgical infrastructure and resources to provide the needed surgical care for children in LMICs.