Do we follow evidence-based medicine recommendations during inguinal hernia surgery? Results of a survey covering 2441 hernia repairs in 2007
- PMID: 19603223
- DOI: 10.1007/s00268-009-0127-y
Do we follow evidence-based medicine recommendations during inguinal hernia surgery? Results of a survey covering 2441 hernia repairs in 2007
Abstract
Background: We conducted a survey to determine whether hernia surgeons follow evidence-based medicine (EBM) criteria in their daily routine.
Methods: All chiefs of general surgery in Styria (Austria) received a short, simple, two-page, 10-item questionnaire.
Results: We analyzed completed surveys from 15 departments reporting 2441 hernia repairs with a mean patient age of 57.5 +/- 11.6 years. Although five techniques accounted for 96.6% of procedures, the frequency of use of each technique varied considerably among the hospitals. There were high numbers of laparoscopic (36.8%) and sutured (19.9%) repairs.
Conclusions: Because of the great variance among the evaluated hospitals as to surgical methods and indications, this survey showed that inguinal hernia surgery does not currently comply with EBM.
Comment in
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The gap between evidence-based guidelines and daily practice.World J Surg. 2010 Jul;34(7):1716-7; author reply 1718-9. doi: 10.1007/s00268-010-0471-y. World J Surg. 2010. PMID: 20151123 No abstract available.
