title: Pleuro-pulmonary disease in central South Africa: A thoracic surgical deficiency.
abstract: We wished to estimate the performance gap between thoracic surgical service provision and the burden of thoracic surgical disease in central South Africa (SA). We compared burden of disease data to the number of thoracic operations performed for inflammatory pleuro-pulmonary disease and primary lung cancer. The performance gap was estimated to be a factor of 1:20 for lung cancer and 1:10 for thoracic surgery as a whole. The extent of under-provision of thoracic surgical services in central SA demonstrates that urgent major healthcare system reforms are required at all levels to address the significant performance gap between service provision by thoracic surgery and the burden of disease in central SA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Linegar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Zyl
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goldstraw
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010995:Pleural Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*