Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to document and discuss the general characteristics, observed problems and their possible solutions in the field of experimental studies of the Turkish pediatric surgeons by analysing the data obtained from the national pediatric surgery and pediatric urology congresses.

Materials and Methods: All data were obtained from the abstract books of the 33 national pediatric surgery and, 6 national pediatric urology congresses. The experimental studies presented in these 39 meetings were divided into three groups as: Group I; the first 11 pediatric surgery congresses (1981-1991), Group II; 12^st-22^nd pediatric surgery congresses (1992-2004), and Group III; 23^rd-33^rd pediatric surgery congresses (2005-2015) plus the first 6 congresses of pediatric urology (2010-2015) to determine the changes in tendencies in time. In addition, all studies were surveyed in PubMed for determining whether or not they were published, and the published papers were screened to determine the preferred journals and their impact factor values.

Results: A total of 5672 studies were presented in 39 meetings and 765 of these were experimental studies. 26 studies in those the first investigator was not a pediatric surgeon were excluded, so total 739 studies were analysed in this study. 58 of 434 study in Group I, 396 of 1821 studies in Group II, and, 285 of 3417 studies in Group III were experimental studies and they consisted 13% of the all studies presented in 39 congresses. There was an average of 6 authors for per study. While there was no such study in Group I, there were 23 (6%), and, 45 (16%) multicenter studies in Group II and III respectively. Pathology, Biochemistry, Pediatrics, General Surgery, and Urology were the most common co-working departments in the experimental studies of pediatric surgeons.

Rats were the most commonly used animals with frequencies of 43%, 71%, and, 93% in three groups respectively. Cell cultures and stem cells had been used in a total of 52 (7%) of the studies. The most frequently studied fields were gastrointestinal system (43,5%), genitourinary system (37%), abdominal wall (4%), and hepatobiliary system (4%). Ischemia-reperfusion studies (12%) and traumas (7,5%), containing different systems were also frequent subjects. In 488 studies (66% of the total), the effect or change in the value of 188 chemical agents had been measured. Various growth factors, nitric oxide, pentoxifylline and various vitamins were the most frequently used agents in these kind of studies.

With exception of 7 studies those were first published, then presented in meetings, PubMed survey revealed that 338 (46%) of total 732, as being 13, 197, and 128 studies in three groups respectively had been published in 87 different journals. Presentation-publication interval ranged between 0-12 years with an average of 2 years. 226 (67%) of the studies were published in only 12 pediatric surgery and pediatric urology journals. The impact factor values of 29 of these 87 journals were between 0-1 and, 130 of the 338 studies had been published in those journals.

Conclusion: Together with the ongoing history of 33 years and publication rates reaching approximately to 50%; the experimental studies of Turkish pediatric surgeons have reached to a level more than “we are working, too”. In modern science, especially in the field of experimental study, personal sources and efforts alone are not sufficient and, a real contributing study requires at least 15-20 researchers to contribute instead of one.

Turkish society of pediatric surgeons must avoid to spend resource and man power, and requires more detailed and well planned studies on original/new subjects. From now on the quality of the studies must come first, instead of number of publications. The first aimed step should be to avoid to perform same like studies, and to provide a real collaboration between pediatric surgery centers and the other related medical disciplines.