Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Utilizing a 3D Printed Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication Model to Shorten a Resident's Learning Curve
Published on: August 15, 2025
Are paediatric operations evidence based? A prospective analysis of general surgery practice in a teaching paediatric
Elke Zani-Ruttenstock1, Augusto Zani, Emma Bullman
1Division of General and Thoracic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Insights
Paediatric surgical practice has improved, with 60% of procedures now supported by high-level evidence, a significant increase from 26% in 1998. However, over a third of procedures still require more robust scientific backing through randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Area of Science:
- Paediatric Surgery
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Medical Research Methodology
Background:
- A 1998 study found only 26% of paediatric operations were supported by high-level evidence (randomized controlled trials).
- There has been a significant emphasis on improving evidence-based paediatric surgical practice since the initial study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the level of evidence supporting paediatric surgical procedures 16 years after a previous study.
- To assess the current adherence to evidence-based medicine (EBM) principles in paediatric surgery.
Main Methods:
- Prospective observational study conducted over a 4-week period in a tertiary children's hospital.
- Literature search using PubMed and EMBASE to identify evidence supporting procedures.
- Classification of evidence using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2009 system.
Main Results:
- 126 paediatric surgical procedures were analyzed.
- 60% of procedures were supported by high-level evidence (OCEBM Level 1a or 1b), a significant increase from 26% in 1998 (P < 0.0001).
- Despite improvement, 40% of procedures still lacked strong evidence, with 9% based on expert opinion or self-evident interventions.
Conclusions:
- There has been a remarkable improvement in the evidence base for paediatric surgical procedures.
- A substantial proportion of paediatric surgeries still require further research, particularly randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- Continued efforts are needed to ensure paediatric surgical practice is guided by robust scientific evidence.
Background/Aim:
Paediatric surgical practice should be based upon solid scientific evidence. A study in 1998 (Baraldini et al., Pediatr Surg Int) indicated that only a quarter of paediatric operations were supported by the then gold standard of evidence based medicine (EBM) which was defined by randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The aim of the current study was to re-evaluate paediatric surgical practice 16 years after the previous study in a larger cohort of patients.
Methods:
A prospective observational study was performed in a tertiary level teaching hospital for children. The study was approved by the local research ethics board. All diagnostic and therapeutic procedures requiring a general anaesthetic carried out over a 4-week period (24 Feb 2014-22 Mar 2014) under the general surgery service or involving a general paediatric surgeon were included in the study. Pubmed and EMBASE were used to search in the literature for the highest level of evidence supporting the recorded procedures. Evidence was classified according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2009 system as well as according to the classification used by Baraldini et al. Results was compared using Χ (2) test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
During the study period, 126 operations (36 different types) were performed on 118 patients. According to the OCEBM classification, 62 procedures (49 %) were supported by systematic reviews of multiple homogeneous RCTs (level 1a), 13 (10 %) by individual RCTs (level 1b), 5 (4 %) by systematic reviews of cohort studies (level 2a), 11 (9 %) by individual cohort studies, 1 (1 %) by systematic review of case-control studies (level 3a), 14 (11 %) by case-control studies (level 3b), 9 (7 %) by case series (type 4) and 11 procedures (9 %) were based on expert opinion or deemed self-evident interventions (type 5). High level of evidence (OCEBM level 1a or 1b or level I according to Baraldini et al. PSI 1998) supported 75 (60 %) operations in the current study compared to 18 (26 %) in the study of 1998 (P < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
The present study shows that nowadays a remarkable number of paediatric surgical procedures are supported by high level of evidence. Despite this improvement in evidence-based paediatric surgical practice, more than a third of the procedures still lack sufficient evidence-based literature support. More RCTs are warranted to support and direct paediatric surgery practice according to the principals of EBM.