Surgical Volume in Sierra Leone: A Comparison Between Population and Facility-Based Data Collection

Abstract

Introduction: Surgical volume obtained from health facility records is one of the six indicators proposed by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. An alternative approach to assess surgical volume is from household surveys, which might be more suitable for low-income settings. The aim of this study was to describe the annual surgical volume in Sierra Leone through a population-based approach and compare this with health facility data. Methods: This study is part of the PRESSCO 2020 (PREvalence Study on Surgical COnditions) study, a cross-sectional countrywide descriptive study based on a randomly selected national representative sample. Data on surgeries performed annually, including type and location, were collected through interviews and compared with facility-based data. Results: In total, 10,001 household members were included from 1854 households, who reported 152 major surgical procedures the year preceding the interview. Amounting an annual nation-wide surgical volume of 1520 (95% CI 1300–1780) per 100,000 population. The most common procedures were hernia repairs (30.9%), caesarean sections (23.7%), and appendicectomies (13.8%). The population-based data collection identified 4.1 times more procedures compared with 372 procedures in facility-based study from the same year. Conclusion: The substantial difference between population- and facility-based data reveals a likely underreporting in facilities and possible overreporting in the household survey. Interpretation of facility-based surgical volume data should be carried out with caution and rigorous description of methodology is essential for proper interpretation. Independent of the method of data collection, the surgical volume in Sierra Leone is far below the recommended global benchmark. Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry under no 12353489.