A Comparative Study of Syrian and Turkish Pediatric Surgery Patients Admitted to Gaziantep City Hospital Near the Syrian Border

Introduction We conducted this research to examine differences between Syrian refugee and Turkish pediatric surgery patients at a border hospital 13 years after Syria's civil war began. With almost no existing studies addressing this specific comparison, our work breaks new ground in understanding surgical needs across these pediatric populations Methods We retrospectively compared demographic characteristics, diagnoses, surgical indications, hospital stays, and outcomes of Syrian and Turkish pediatric surgery patients (under 18 years) treated at Gaziantep City Hospital between October 5, 2023, and September 1, 2024. Diagnoses were grouped according to International Classification of Diseases. Chi-square or Fisher's tests were used for categorical variables, Student's t-test for normally distributed continuous variables, and Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed variables. Statistical significance was accepted as p < 0.05. Results Of 25,630 patients, 59.3% were Turkish and 40.7% Syrian. Syrian patients were younger (mean age 4.87 vs 5.61 years) and hospitalized longer (6.72 vs 5.23 days). Syrian patients had higher elective surgery rates (6.65% vs 5.76%) and hospitalization rates (10.61% vs 9.24%). Inguinal hernia repair was the most common diagnosis (59.17%), while appendectomy was the most frequent emergency surgery (16.38%). In the burn intensive care unit, Syrian patients had longer stays (7.35 vs 4.36 days) and higher mortality rates (17.4% vs 0%), suggesting more severe presentations or delayed treatment access. Conclusion Our findings reveal significant hurdles in managing pediatric surgical cases, with growing caseloads, varied diagnostic patterns, and language obstacles creating daily difficulties. For refugee children specifically, we found their treatment outcomes improve when we use tailored risk assessment methods and work actively to bridge communication gaps.