Impact of new dedicated pediatric operating rooms on surgical volume in Africa: Evidence from Nigeria.

Background: There is a large unmet children's surgical need in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study examines the impact of installing dedicated pediatric operating rooms (ORs) on surgical volume at National Hospital Abuja, a hospital in Abuja, Nigeria.

Methods: A Non-Governmental Organization installed two pediatric ORs in August 2019. We assessed changes in volume from July 2018 to September 2021 using interrupted time series analysis.

Results: Total surgical volume increased by 13 cases (p = 0.01) in 1-month post-installation, with elective operations making up 85% (p = 0.02) of cases. There was an increase in elective volume by about 1 case per month (p = 0.01) post-installation and the difference between pre-and post-trends was 1.23 cases per month (p = 0.009). The baseline volume of neonatal surgeries increased by 9 cases per month (p < 0.001) post-installation and this difference between pre- and post-trends was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Similarly, one-month post-installation, the cases classified as ASA class >2 increased by 14 (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between pre-and post-installation mortality rate at about 2% per month.

Conclusions: There were significant changes in surgical volume after OR installation, primarily composed of elective operations, reflecting an increased capacity to address surgical backlogs and/or perform more specialized surgeries. Despite a significant increase in volume and higher ASA class, there was no significant difference in mortality. This study supports the installation of surgical infrastructure in LMICs to strengthen capacity without increasing postoperative mortality.