Estado actual de la urología pediátrica en Colombia

Introduction and Objectives: Pediatric Urology (PU) is recognized as a sub-speciality from general Urology. In our country there are no Fellowships in this area. Bogota seems to have the majority of attending PU specialist, with the rest of the country being cared for by general urologists or pediatric surgeons. They have dedicated a lot of years in this practice, achieving a place for this specialty between colleges and our health care system. With the present study we want to establish a diagnosis of PU status to identify the needs that exist in the different regions of the country and make institutional recommendations on the education and distribution of sub-specialists in Colombia. Materials and Methods: An e-mail was sent with 21 questions to the specialists registered in the Colombian Urology Society and Colombian Pediatric Society. Results: Approximately 550 questionnaires were sent, and 127 were answered by 111 urologists and 16 pediatric surgeons. Half (50%) of them had their clinical practice in Bogotá, 30% in smaller cities such as Cali, Barranquilla and Medellin, and the remaining 20% in the rest of the country. The results were divided in two groups; those who dedicate less than 10% of their clinical practice to PU, 55% of the specialists. Of the 45% of respondents who dedicated more time, one quarter of them dedicated more than 60% of their time to this practice. Also, around a half of them work in Bogotá, and 32% reports to have formal education in pediatric urology. Even though, 60% see less than 50 outpatients a week, and half of them perform less than 10 surgeries a month. Conclusions: In Colombia, PU is practiced in larger cities, mainly in Bogotá. There are a lot of areas in the country with lack of care. Specialists that report to have a significant practice in pediatric patients do not see enough outpatients, and do not perform enough surgeries. Only a small number of specialists practice the PU as a single specialty.