Authors:

Abstract

Background: Existing guidelines have been endorsed by the European Hernia Society on the treatment of inguinal hernia in adults. However, since implementation, there has been no national benchmark to evaluate the management of inguinal hernia in Portugal. Thus, it remains unknown what are the patterns of provision of care and the difficulties that need to be tackled on a national level.

Aim: to characterise the patterns of provision of care in elective inguinal hernia repair in Portugal.

Inclusion criteria: patients over 18 years old with appropriate informed consent submitted to inguinal hernia repair, in an elective setting.

Exclusion criteria: inability to provide informed consent or to comply with followup schedule.

Primary outcome measures: proportion of patients submitted to preoperative imaging examinations (ultrasound, CT, MRI, herniography); incidence of antibiotic prophylaxis; proportion of procedures done as day surgery; employment of a field block (ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, genitofemoral nerve) in patients undergoing open repair procedures.

Secondary outcome measures: overall 30day adverse event rate according to the ClavienDindo classification of postoperative complications; proportion of repair procedures done laparoscopically.

Study design: a prospective, multicentre, observational study running in three separate periods of twoweek duration each, across a national setting. Data collection will cover baseline demographic data including risk factors for surgical site infection, preoperative investigations, intraoperative management and postoperative data. Informed consent will be collected on the day of surgery, before the procedure. Postoperative data collection will cover early follow up until discharge and a further phone contact will be made at 30 days postoperatively.