SP5.1 - The importance of weekly Radiology-General Surgery Multi-Disciplinary Meetings (MDMs) in the management of Emergency General Surgery (EGS) patients

Abstract

Abstract Aims Most patients in Emergency-General-Surgery (EGS) require radiological investigations as part of their management plan. However, unlike cancer services where structured multi-disciplinary-meetings (MDMs) form an integral part of patient management, MDMs are not commonly practised in EGS. Our aim is to identify if having a weekly Radiology-General Surgery-MDM leads to better outcome in management of EGS patients. Methods A prospective study involving weekly 1-hour MDM focusing on Radiology and General Surgery was conducted from May to November 2023. These sessions were led by consultant radiologists where discussions amongst general surgical consultants and junior doctors took place. Factors taken into consideration were clinical presentation, original scan report, any missed findings on imaging and any changes to the initial management plan. Results A total of 85 cases were discussed during the study period, majority were initially reported by the out-of-hours radiologists. Out of those, 40 (47%) had changes to the management plan as well as missed findings that were noted as a result of Radiology-GeneralSurgery-MDM. Informal feedback gathered from junior doctors who attended revealed a significant impact in their knowledge on interpreting radiological scans in EGS. Conclusion Weekly Radiology-GeneralSurgery-MDMs for EGS-admissions have seen to improve overall patient outcome as a result of having a second opinion and recommending change in management plan in significant proportion of patients. It also had a positive impact on learning the clinical correlation of radiological-scans by junior-doctors who regularly attended these meetings.