Latin American Surgical Outcomes Study in Paediatrics (LASOS-Peds): study protocol and statistical analysis plan for a multicentre international observational cohort study.

INTRODUCTION

Surgery is a cost-effective public health intervention. Access to safe surgery is a basic human right. However, there are still significant disparities in the access to and safety of surgical and anaesthesia care between low-income and middle-income countries and high-income countries. The Latin American Surgical Outcomes Study in Paediatrics (LASOS-Peds) is an international, observational, 14-day cohort study to investigate the incidence of 30-day in-hospital complications following elective or emergency paediatric surgery in Latin American countries.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: LASOS-Peds is a prospective, international, multicentre observational study of paediatric patients undergoing both elective and non-elective surgeries and procedures, inpatient and outpatient, including those performed outside the operating room. The primary outcome is the incidence of in-hospital postoperative complications up to 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes include intraoperative complications and the need for intensive care unit admission.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the coordinating centre (Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo) as well as from all the participating centres. The study results are expected to be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at international conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05934682.