Abstract
Background: Study of various surgical health problems among school children is of paramount importance. Most of school children belong to low socio economic background. Because of poverty, lack of awareness, and negligence the surgical health problems are neglected. School is the best place to cover maximum number of children and to identify the surgical health problems and offer them the free treatment and surgery. The objective of this study was to study the prevalence and pattern of various surgical health problems among school children. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was carried out among 274591 school children of Latur district from July 2008 to March 2009. A team of doctors, pharmacist, and staff nurse and health worker screened all the 274591 school children. Those children suspected of having any surgical health problem were listed out. Then a team of qualified surgeons examined the suspected children of having any surgical health problem. Based on the surgeon’s decision or diagnosis, the children were offered the appropriate treatment in the form of medicines or surgery. The appropriate treatment was given free of cost to all. Results: A total of 116 children were found to be suffering from various surgical health problems. Among these positive cases, maximum were found to have hernia i.e. 46 cases followed by undescended testis in 20 cases, phimosis in 17 cases, hydrocele in 14 cases and 19 cases presented with other surgical conditions. A significantly higher number of males were found to have the surgical health problem i.e. 97 out of total 116. 66.4% of the cases were operated, 12.9% of the cases were given the treatment. In 5.2% of the cases no intervention was required. But 14.7% of the cases declined the offered treatment of choice. One case left against the medical advice. Conclusions: A significant number of children were found to have surgical health problems like hernia, hydrocele, phimosis, undescended testis and others.
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