Is night emergency laparoscopy a high-risk surgery?

Abstract

Introduction: Although laparoscopy has become the gold standard for many abdominal emergency pathologies, emergency nighttime laparoscopic surgery is considered high-risk for several reasons, particularly due to limited resources in the operating room during nighttime hours. The primary objective of our study is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of nighttime laparoscopy in the management of non-traumatic acute abdomen. Materials and Methods: Descriptive and prospective, evaluative study conducted between February 2018 and October 2021. Our study included 337 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for non-traumatic acute abdominal emergencies. Results: Among the 337 patients, we operated on 211 patients (62.6%) outside of regular working hours (between 4:00 PM and 8:00 AM), of which 189 patients (56.10%) were operated on from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM, and 22 patients (6.2%) from 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM. The mean operative time was 52.09 ± 24.14 minutes. Perioperative difficulties related to the operated pathology were encountered in 21 cases (9.95%). The overall mean hospital stay was 1 day (range: 7 hours - 4 days). We compared nighttime laparoscopy with daytime laparoscopy and found an advantage in favor of nighttime laparoscopy in reducing hospitalization duration (p value 0.003). Conclusion: Nighttime laparoscopy is feasible and safe.