Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Basel, Spitalstrasse 21, 4031, Basel, Switzerland.
Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Children's University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Childs Nerv Syst. 2024 Jun;40(6):1889-1900. doi: 10.1007/s00381-024-06343-6. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
Pediatric Neurosurgery as a subspeciality started to emerge during the late 1950s, with only a few dedicated pediatric neurosurgeons in the Western world. Over the last few decades, the awareness that children require subspecialized care by dedicated pediatric neurosurgeons and an interdisciplinary team has been growing worldwide, leading to an increase in pediatric neurosurgeons. Several studies have shown that subspecialized care for pediatric patients improves outcomes and is cost-effective. This survey aims to assess the current setting of pediatric neurosurgery and training of neurosurgical residents in pediatric neurosurgery in Switzerland.
We conducted an online survey by sending e-mail invitations in 2021 to all neurosurgical residents in Switzerland. The survey included questions regarding the participants' demographics, current workplace structures, the care of specific pediatric neurosurgical pathologies, and participants' opinions of the Swiss training program for pediatric neurosurgery and possible improvement. We defined at the beginning of the survey that a pediatric neurosurgeon is a board-certified neurosurgeon with at least one year of dedicated pediatric neurosurgical fellowship training abroad.
We received a total of 25 responses from residents, of which 20 (80%) were male. Twenty-two participants (88%) worked in one of seven major hospitals in Switzerland at the time of the survey, and four (16%) were interested in pursuing a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery. Seven (35%) and five residents (25%) feel comfortable taking care on the ward of a craniosynostosis and hydrocephalus patient younger than 6 months, respectively. Twelve residents (60%) feel comfortable taking care of a pediatric brain tumor patient. The majority (n = 22, 88%) of all residents agree that a fellowship-trained pediatric neurosurgeon should treat children, while two (8%) residents state that any neurosurgeon with an interest in pediatric neurosurgery should be able to treat children. All residents (n = 25, 100%) agree that pediatric neurosurgery training and care in Switzerland needs to be improved.
Pediatric neurosurgery training in Switzerland is rather heterogeneous and not very well structured, with varying frequencies of children-specific neurosurgical pathologies. Most residents agreed that a subspecialized pediatric neurosurgeon should oversee the care of children in neurosurgery, while all agree that pediatric neurosurgical training and care should be improved in Switzerland.
儿科神经外科学作为一个亚专业，始于 20 世纪 50 年代末，当时西方世界只有少数专门从事儿科神经外科的医生。在过去的几十年里，全世界都越来越意识到儿童需要由专门的儿科神经外科医生和多学科团队提供专门的护理，这导致儿科神经外科医生的数量有所增加。多项研究表明，对儿科患者进行专门护理可以改善治疗效果并具有成本效益。本调查旨在评估瑞士儿科神经外科学的现状和神经外科住院医师的培训情况。
我们于 2021 年通过电子邮件向瑞士所有神经外科住院医师发送了在线调查邀请。该调查包括参与者的人口统计学信息、当前工作场所结构、特定儿科神经外科疾病的治疗情况以及参与者对瑞士儿科神经外科学培训计划的看法和可能的改进。我们在调查开始时就定义，儿科神经外科医生是指具有至少一年国外专门的儿科神经外科研修经历并获得委员会认证的神经外科医生。
我们共收到 25 名住院医师的回复，其中 20 名（80%）为男性。在调查时，22 名参与者（88%）在瑞士的 7 家主要医院之一工作，其中 4 名（16%）对从事儿科神经外科研究感兴趣。7 名（35%）和 5 名（25%）住院医师分别对照顾年龄小于 6 个月的颅缝早闭和脑积水患儿感到舒适。12 名住院医师（60%）对照顾儿科脑肿瘤患儿感到舒适。大多数（n=22，88%）住院医师同意应由接受过培训的儿科神经外科医生治疗儿童，而 2 名（8%）住院医师表示任何对儿科神经外科学感兴趣的神经外科医生都应该能够治疗儿童。所有住院医师（n=25，100%）均同意瑞士的儿科神经外科学培训和护理需要改进。
瑞士的儿科神经外科培训相当多样化，结构也不是很完善，儿童特定神经外科疾病的发生频率各不相同。大多数住院医师同意应由专门的儿科神经外科医生负责儿童的神经外科治疗，而所有住院医师都同意瑞士的儿科神经外科学培训和护理需要改进。
