Inguinal hernia surgery in the Netherlands : are patients treated according to the guidelines?

In 2003, a dedicated Dutch committee developed evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of inguinal hernia (IH) in children and adults. The aim of this study was to describe trends in hernia care before and after the publication of the guidelines on IH surgery in the Netherlands. Originally, a retrospective baseline analysis of IH surgery in 90 Dutch hospitals was performed among patients treated for IH in 2001. The results of this baseline analysis were compared with a recently performed second analysis of patients treated for IH in 2005. In children < 4 years of age, the study showed a... Mehr ...