2003 Volume 39 Issue 1 Pages 21-24
Purpose A low birth rate may be the cause an decrease in the number of patients who require pediatric surgical care in several centers of pediatric surgery in recent years In order to evaluate regional differences between each prefecture in the Kyushu-Okinawa area, the relation between number of live birth infants and specialized pediatric surgeons was studied. Methods The number of live birth infants in the past 20 years, and the number of qualified specialized pediatric surgeons (QSPS, "Shidoi"), specialized pediatric surgeons (SPS; "Nmten") and qualified pediatric surgical centers (QPSC, "Nmteishisetsu") were estimated for each prefecture and compared with those for all of Japan, the USA, and the UK Results. The number of live birth infants decreased about 70% in the past 20 years. The rate of decrease in Okinawa was the lowest. The numbers for QSPS and QPSC in the Kyushu-Okinawa area were lower than those for the rest of Japan Especially, Nagasaki, Miyazaki, and Okinawa lacked QSPS as well as QPSC Miyazaki also lacked SPS Conclusions Since pediatric patients who require surgical treatment should be managed by specialized pediatric surgeons instead of general surgeons, the following ideas are proposed (1) In order to create SPS and QSPS, a "matching system" should be utilized (2) Re-distribution of QPSC should be considered by the government (3) The social insurance system should be revised.
