A commentary on "The development and evaluation of "Training the trainer" curriculum for surgical residents: Feasibility study" (Int J Surg 2022;98:106209).

Global surgery has become the undisputed starting point for addressing a myriad of problems in surgery today. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly evaluate the scientific productivity in surgery, its behavior, validity and impact. In Latin America, specifically in Colombia, there are no studies that have analyzed this production. A retrospective cross-sectional bibliometric study was carried out, in which the Colombian Ministry of Science database was consulted with the validated results up to July 2021. In the search section for research groups, the key word “Surgery” was used, and all associated GrupLAC (platform where the information of the research groups can be found) and their registered products were reviewed. 40 groups were included. Only 5 (12.5%) were registered in surgery as main line of research. The great majority of the groups were in the medium-low category, 50% in category C and 22.5% in category B. The vast majority of surgical groups are located in Bogotá (19; 47.5%). The first surgery group in the country was created in 1994 and the last one in 2017. In 27 years of surgical research, a total of 4121 registered scientific articles were found, 83 books, 713 book chapters, 2891 products associated with participation in scientific events, 1221 theses directed, and 1670 projects in colombian surgical research groups. There was evidence of a high rate of underreporting of data, due to duplication of products and incomplete registration of data. There is a high rate of underreporting of products and data in the GrupLAC of Colombian surgical research groups. Most of the production is located in the Andes region (Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Bogotá), and is predominantly composed of scientific articles and products associated with participation in scientific events. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103667

Surgical research in Colombia part 1: Scientific and academic productivity of the Colombian research groups in surgery

Ethnicity, genetic variants, risk factors and cholelithiasis: The need for eco-epidemiological studies and genomic analysis in Latin American surgery

Hernia repair is one of the most frequent interventions in surgery worldwide. The approach to abdominal wall and inguinal hernias remains a challenge due to emerging evidence on aspects such as timely diagnosis, use of innovative techniques or post-surgical care. However, pre-operative preparation is also a factor that substantially affects the absolute success rate of this type of condition. Time management between diagnosis and intervention, control of diseases that increase intra-abdominal pressure, weight and nutritional status, are some of the many elements to be considered in this type of patients before surgery. Considering that this condition carries high health care costs, especially in case of recurrence, has a risk of complications and affects the individual's functional capacity, the objective of this review is to synthesize evidence on the role of these factors on the short- and long-term outcome of inguinal hernia management, and to make suggestions on the general approach to this type of patients. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103953

Pre-operative factors associated with short- and long-term outcomes in the patient with inguinal hernia: What does the current evidence say?

The production of quality surgical evidence and the development of academic surgery have emerged as priorities for the solution of current barriers to achieving the objectives of global surgery. The academic training and scientific production of academic surgeons is essential for the production of new knowledge. In Latin America, specifically in Colombia, there are no studies that have analyzed this production.A retrospective cross-sectional bibliometric study was carried out, in which the Colombian Ministry of Science database was consulted with the validated results up to July 2021. In the search section for research profiles, the key word "Surgery" was used, and all associated CvLAC (profiles where the information of Colombian researchers can be found) and their registered products were reviewed.A total of 1701 researchers in surgery were registered in the database of the Colombian Ministry of Science, of which only 380 corresponded to academic surgeons with correct registration. Only 6 (1.6%) were found to have a Ph.D., 45 (11.8%) a fellow, and 20 (5.3%) a master's degree. 79.5% (n = 302) of Colombian academic surgeons are men. Only 10.2% (n = 39) are formally categorized as researchers. 45.3% (n = 172) have not published scientific articles. The total number of published articles was 2386, and most of them were published in Q4 journals (n = 1121; 47%) or not indexed by SJR/Publindex (n = 517; 21.6%). Only 3 surgeons have more than 100 articles. 9.5% have published at least 1 book, and 40% have participated in at least 1 project.According to data registered with the Colombian Ministry of Science, a large part of the scientific production of Colombian academic surgeons is concentrated in scientific articles, most of which are found in Q4 or non-categorized journals. Approximately half of the academic surgeons have not published at least one scientific article. However, one fifth of those who have, have published at least 8 articles. Less than 20% of surgeons have additional postgraduate studies, and only 1 in 4 academic surgeons is a woman. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104678

Jorge Alberto Nuñez-Gamez

Papers

Global outcomes, surgical teams and COVID-19 pandemic: Will the same objectives of global surgery persist?