Emergency Surgical Services Research Articles

Emergency surgery admissions and the COVID-19 pandemic: did the first wave really change our practice? Results of an ACOI/WSES international retrospective cohort audit on 6263 patients

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic is having a deep impact on emergency surgical services, with a significant reduction of patients admitted into emergency surgical units world widely. Reliable figures of this reduction have not been produced yet. Our international audit aimed at giving a precise snapshot of the absolute and relative changes of emergency surgical admissions at the outbreak of the pandemic.Materials and methodsDatasets of patients admitted as general surgical emergencies into 45 internationally distributed emergency surgical units during the months of March and April 2020 (Covid-19 pandemic outbreak) were collected and compared with those of patients admitted into the same units during the months of March and April 2019 (pre-Covid-19). Primary endpoint was to evaluate the relative variation of the presentation symptoms and discharge diagnoses between the two study periods. Secondary endpoint was to identify the possible change of therapeutic strategy during the same two periods.ResultsForty-five centres participated sent their anonymised data to the study hub, for a total of 6263 patients. Of these, 3810 were admitted in the pre-Covid period and 2453 in the Covid period, for a 35.6% absolute reduction. The most common presentation was abdominal pain, whose incidence did not change between the two periods, but in the Covid period patients presented less frequently with anal pain, hernias, anaemia and weight loss. ASA 1 and low frailty patients were admitted less frequently, while ASA>1 and frail patients showed a relative increase. The type of surgical access did not change significantly, but lap-to-open conversion rate halved between the two study periods. Discharge diagnoses of appendicitis and diverticulitis reduced significantly, while bowel ischaemia and perianal ailments had a significant relative increase.ConclusionsOur audit demonstrates a significant overall reduction of emergency surgery admissions at the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic with a minimal change of the proportions of single presentations, diagnoses and treatments. These findings may open the door to new ways of managing surgical emergencies without engulfing the already busy hospitals.

Creating COVID-19 surge capacity at an elective surgical centre: a model for perioperative care.

We provide an initial, brief description of safe relocation of our emergency surgical services from a tertiary teaching hospital to a satellite secondary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reconfiguration created increased theatre and critical care bed capacity at the tertiary site, while enabling lower acuity emergency services in a repurposed, designated COVID free hospital. The described model can be applied to situations mandating surge capacity at tertiary hospitals, in high income countries.

Acute care surgery and COVID-19 pandemic: the voice of emergency surgical services

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical services around the world were greatly affected by the need for organizational and infrastructure modifications, accelerated training of primary teams, and strategies to allow for patient flow due to the confinement and disruption of economic activities. Acute care surgery departments are one of the departments that presented the greatest number of questions and concerns, due to the limited availability of supplies, technological equipment, trained and healthy personnel, among other aspects. Many of these modifications focused on strengthening emergency and critical care services, leaving aside the functionality of other services. However, this is a fatal mistake, since acute surgical illnesses cannot wait. A study carried out in the USA showed that although there was a decrease in the attendance to acute care surgery services during the first two months of the pandemic (57%), there was an increase in the severity of the symptoms presented (64%). Therefore, the authors concluded that acute care surgery during public health disasters is an essential health service. Similarly, the perception of specialists and health professionals working in this area complained about the conditions of risk of infection due to the absence of biosafety elements and administrative neglect.

P-EGS28 Management of obstructive jaundice secondary to gall stones in an ambulatory setting

Abstract Background Our data from Leeds shows a 30% increase in patient attendance to the Surgical Assesment Unit (SAU) across a 5 year period, putting unprecedented demands on the acute surgical service. A new Ambulatory Surgical Centre (ASC) was established for the advancement of ambulatory care pathways that would ensure that acute patients are seen promptly and kept safe with monitoring in an appropriate setting without needing admission to the hospital bed base. Gallstone related disease accounts for a third of patient attendance to the emergency surgical services. We present our experience with an ambulatory pathway to manage patients with obstructive jaundice caused by gall stones, and propose a protocol driven pathway. Methods The ASC operates an acute, consultant led clinic, with access to urgent blood tests and dedicated USS, CT and MRI imaging capacity, and offers a direct referral service from Primary Care Networks (PCNs) through the Primary Care Access Line (PCAL). Patients referred with clinical jaundice or RUQ/Epigastric pain are investigated for derangement in their liver function, and assessed for the presence and severity of Acute Cholangitis (AC), according to the 2018 Tokyo Guidelines. Patients without evidence of cholangitis, or with AC Grade I are planned for management in the ambulatory setting, including investigations, monitoring and endoscopic/surgical intervention. Outcome data was collected retrospectively from PCAL data source, spanning from Oct 2020 till July 2021. Results A total of 98 patients were referred to the acute surgical service during this period. Out of these, 47% had Grade II (n = 35) or Grade III (n = 17) AC. 48% were suitable for ambulatory management, with no evidence of AC(n = 5) or Grade I AC(n = 43). 20% patients were found to have a cause other than gall stone disease. 55% have undergone intervention (33 Laparoscopic cholecystectomies, 22 ERCP) while 12 are on the waiting list for surgery. Conclusions Our protocol offers a safe, comprehensive and timely pathway for the management of patients with gall stone related obstructed jaundice in an ambulatory setting. This has helped reduce the demand on hospital beds for surgical patients.

Paging Patterns Are Different for Emergency vs Elective Surgical Services at Night

Paging Patterns Are Different for Emergency vs Elective Surgical Services at Night

Management of Acute Appendicitis During the COVID-19 Pandemic is Significantly Different: A Retrospective Single UK Hospital Study.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change in the delivery of acute and emergency surgical services. With emphasis on reducing unnecessary operative intervention and performing more CT scans, there has been a shift in managing acute appendicitis conservatively. We evaluate the impact of this shift on the management of acute appendicitis.MethodsA single UK centre retrospective study evaluating patients with suspected acute appendicitis pre-COVID-19 rota (18 March 2020) and post-COVID rota implementation. Data including demographics, inflammatory markers, imaging, mode of management and operative findings were collected. Logistic regression with SPSS was used to determine which factors were associated with conservative management and treated with antibiotics.ResultsA total of 161 patients were analysed, 82 pre-COVID19 and 79 post-COVID19. Of the pre-COVID-19 patients, 67.07% underwent appendicectomy while the rest were conservatively managed; 24.3% of these patients underwent a CT scan only. Post-COVID-19, 22.78% of patients underwent appendicectomy with a higher percentage of diagnostic CT scans performed, 43/79 (54.4%, p <0.001). The proportion of histologically normal appendicectomies was significantly reduced in the post-COVID-19 era (12.78% vs 0.00%; p-value 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed a normal WCC to be associated with greater likelihood of conservative management. No conservatively managed patients returned to theatre in the 30-day follow-up period.ConclusionDue to the restrictions imposed by the post-COVID-19 rota, a greater proportion of patients were managed conservatively with comparable patient outcomes. The approach also led to fewer negative appendicectomies owing to greater reliance on imaging.

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on emergency surgical services: A mini-review

Background: The global COVID-19 spread is unquestionably one of the leading obstacles of every healthcare system, patient, and healthcare professionals. This leading pandemic has immeasurable effects on every healthcare domain, including surgical care, especially surgical demand for emergency settings. Methods: An extensive data search was done from two leading databases Medline (PubMed) and Google Scholar, by using different keywords. The literature search was done both using individual and combination of keywords. All relevant data published from December 2019 to April 2021 were included and narratively analyzed. Results: Thirteen articles were selected based on COVID-19 and its consequences on emergency Surgical Services including recommendations, guidelines, prioritization, and reporting of surgical case reduction. Conclusion: This global COVID-19 pandemic had influenced all domains of surgery, including emergency surgery, which required urgent surgical attention. Training and multidisciplinary support are necessary for the surgical teams to perform in this critical situation.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Adult Surgical Patients and Surgical Services

The PREDICT study aimed to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected surgical services and surgical patients and to identify predictors of outcomes in this cohort. High mortality rates were reported for surgical patients with COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. However, the indirect impact of the pandemic on this cohort is not understood, and risk predictors are yet to be identified. PREDICT is an international longitudinal cohort study comprising surgical patients presenting to hospital between March and August 2020, conducted alongside a survey of staff redeployment and departmental restructuring. A subgroup analysis of 3176 adult emergency patients, recruited by 55 teams across 18 countries is presented. Among adult emergency surgical patients, all-cause in-hospital mortality (IHM) was 3.6%, compared to 15.5% for those with COVID-19. However, only 14.1% received a COVID-19 test on admission in March, increasing to 76.5% by July.Higher Clinical Frailty Scale scores (CFS >7 aOR 18.87), ASA grade above 2 (aOR 4.29), and COVID-19 infection (aOR 5.12) were independently associated with significantly increased IHM.The peak months of the first wave were independently associated with significantly higher IHM (March aOR 4.34; April aOR 4.25; May aOR 3.97), compared to non-peak months.During the study, UK operating theatre capacity decreased by a mean of 63.6% with a concomitant 27.3% reduction in surgical staffing. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted surgical patients, both directly through co-morbid infection and indirectly as shown by increasing mortality in peak months, irrespective of COVID-19 status.Higher CFS scores and ASA grades strongly predict outcomes in surgical patients and are an important risk assessment tool during the pandemic.

Innovation to reduce medication‐related harm

Innovation to reduce medication‐related harm

Mapping timely access to emergency and essential surgical services: The Malaysian experience.

Surgical conditions form a significant proportion of the global burden of disease. Since the 2015 World Health Assembly resolution A68.15, there is recognition that the provision of essential surgical care is an integral part of universal access to health care. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery proposed its first surgical indicator to measure a population's access to the Bellwether procedures (laparotomy, caesarean section and treatment of open fracture) within two hours. Bellwether access is a proxy for emergency and essential surgical care. This project aims to map essential surgical access to the Bellwether procedures in Malaysia. The location and capability of hospitals to perform the Bellwether procedures was obtained from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and MoH hospital specific websites. The Malaysian population data were retrieved from the national department of statistics. Times for patients to travel to hospital were calculated by combining manual contouring and geospatial mapping. There were 49 Bellwether-capable MoH hospitals serving a national population of 32.5 million. Overall 94% of Malaysia's population have access to the Bellwethers within two hours. This coverage is universal in West (Peninsular) Malaysia, but there is only 73% coverage in East Malaysia, with 1.8 million residents of Sabah and Sarawak not having timely access. Malaysia's Bellwether capacity compares well with other countries in World Health Organisation's Western Pacific region. There is good access to essential and emergency surgical services in Malaysia. The incomplete access for 1.8 million people in East Malaysia will inform national surgical planning.

625 The Impact of COVID-19 on Burn Care at a Regional Burn Center

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound global impact, not least on hospital functioning. Institutions have all had to prepare and adapt to a large number of admissions, and the influence on elective and emergency surgical services, including burn care, has been significant; it may be some time before we know the full extent of this. While many centers were able to commence more normal activities for a while, we are now seeing an exponential rise in cases again, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the provision of burn care.MethodsA review of all admissions, operative cases and clinic visits between 1 April and 31 August 2020 was undertaken at an American Burn Association verified burn center. These data were compared with the same five-month period in the preceding two years.ResultsSelected data highlights are tabulated (Table 1). During the five months in question, fewer patients were admitted than the previous two years (N=81 versus 121). The mean total body surface area was slightly higher this year (13.7%), and the mean length of hospital stay longer (18 days). The male-to-female ratio of admitted patients was greater during the five months of 2020, at 2.9:1, compared to 1.7:1. No significant differences in terms of etiology were detected, however. As expected, clinic visits reduced dramatically from a mean of 160 patient visits per month to just 81 per month, with the majority conducted virtually. During 2020 the operative cases were similar in number to previous years (N=176), but the mean duration was significantly longer (190 minutes). The total time utilised for burn surgery was similar to previous years (572 hours). Table 1. Selected burn center data comparing 2020 with 2019 and 2018.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that although total admissions were slightly reduced, the demands on Burn ICU bed resources and burn operating time were similar. The data supports the notion that removing scheduled operating time for our service resulted in less efficient execution of acute burn surgeries and longer hospital stays. Although formal clinic visits were significantly reduced and were mainly conducted virtually, several patients were satisfied by a novel and user-friendly email service conducted by our clinic nurse specialist.

AB029. SOH21AS128. Effect of COVID-19 on the treatment of acute appendicitis in a peripheral hospital

Background: The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the provision of emergency surgical services. The modality of treatment of acute appendicitis had to be reconsidered given the risks of operative management, leading to the increase in the number of patients being treated conservatively.

The Role of the Computed Tomography (CT) Thorax in the Diagnosis of COVID-19 for Patients Presenting with Acute Surgical Emergencies. A Single Institute Experience.

The current Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a huge impact on emergency surgical services in the UK. The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) published guidelines about COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020 to aid decision making for the surgeons. These guidelines recommended that all patients requiring urgent surgery should have reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and/or computed tomography (CT) thorax pre-operatively. However, it is currently unclear whether the use of CT thorax is a sensitive and specific diagnostic test. The objective of this study was to find out whether CT thorax is a reliable and accurate test in the diagnosis of COVID-19 compared to RT-PCR. This is particularly important in surgical patients where there is no time to wait for RT-PCR results. A prospective cohort study of patients presented with acute surgical emergencies at a University Teaching Hospital was conducted. Data was collected from March 23, to May 15, 2020, during the peak of the crisis in the UK. All adult patients presented with operable general surgical emergencies were considered eligible. Another group of patients, admitted with acute medical emergencies but with suspected COVID-19 infection, was used for comparison. Data was manually collected, and sensitivity, specificity and predictive value were calculated using the MedCalc statistical software version 19.2.6. Standard reporting for COVID-19 infection for CT chest based on guidelines from British Society of Thoracic Imaging (BSTI) and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) was used. Patients who had their CT thorax reported as typical or classic of COVID 19 (high probability) were treated as infected cases with extra precautions in the wards and surgical theatres as suggested by health and safety executive (HSE). These patients had serial RT-PCR during their admissions or in the post-operative phase, if the first swab was negative. For the study, 259 patients were considered eligible for inclusion from both groups. Patients admitted for acute surgical emergencies were treated according to RCS guidelines and subjected to RT-PCR test and/or CT scan of the thorax. There were 207 patients with high clinical suspicion of COVID-19. Of those 207 patients, 77 patients had CT thorax with radiographic features consistent with COVID-19 pneumonia. However, only 40 patients had a positive RT-PCR result. CT thorax was normal in 130 patients, out of which 29 patients were found to have COVID-19 diagnosis after swab test. Sensitivity of CT scan to diagnose COVID-19 infection was found to be 58% (95% CI; 45.48% to 69.76%) whilst specificity was 73% (95% CI; 64.99% to 80.37%) with a negative predictive value of 77.69% (95% CI; 72.17% to 82.39%). CT scan was found to be a reliable tool in the diagnosis of COVID-19. With a negative predictive value of up to 82.4%, CT thorax can play an important role to help surgeons in their decision making for asymptomatic suspected cases of COVID-19. However, over-reliance on CT scan which also has a high false positive rate for diagnosis of COVID-19 infections can lead to overtreatment, overuse of resources and delays in decision-making process. Hence, results should be interpreted with caution and correlated with clinical presentation and swab test results.

Emergency surgery amid ongoing pandemic in suspected COVID-19 with D1 perforation

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected working patterns of all emergency and regular surgical services. We report a case of emergency surgery amid this ongoing pandemic, in a suspected COVID-19 patient with D1 (duodenal) perforation. We did not wait for the real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) report for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to come, and proceeded with surgery with all safety protocols. We intend not to delay, for the better outcome of patient’s condition, the life-saving response alike we follow routinely. The pandemic scenario is expected to sustain for longer time. We assume, patients requiring acute care surgery with COVID-19 like symptoms (suspected or confirmed), should definitely be proceeded with surgery as earliest, following all safety protocols, and prevent undue and added morbidity and mortality during this pandemic crisis.

Emergency and essential surgical healthcare services during COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries: A perspective.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant changes in health care systems worldwide, with low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) sustaining important repercussions. Specifically, alongside cancellation and postponements of non-essential surgical services, emergency and essential surgical care delivery may become affected due to the shift of human and material resources towards fighting the pandemic. For surgeries that do get carried through, new difficulties arise in protecting surgical personnel from contracting SARS-CoV-2. This scarcity in LMIC surgical ecosystems may result in higher morbidity and mortality, in addition to the COVID-19 toll. This paper aims to explore the potential consequences of COVID-19 on the emergency and essential surgical care in LMICs, to offer recommendations to mitigate damages and to reflect on preparedness for future crises. Reducing the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on LMIC emergency and essential surgical services can be achieved through empowering communities with accurate information and knowledge on prevention, optimizing surgical material resources, providing quality training of health care personnel to treat SARS-CoV-2, and ensuring adequate personal protection equipment for workers on the frontline. While LMIC health systems are under larger strain, the experience from previous outbreaks may aid in order to innovate and adapt to the current pandemic. Protecting LMIC surgical ecosystems will be a pivotal process in ensuring that previous health system strengthening efforts are preserved, comprehensive care for populations worldwide are ensured, and to allow for future developments beyond the pandemic.

Can network science reveal structure in a complex healthcare system? A network analysis using data from emergency surgical services

IntroductionHospitals are complex systems and optimising their function is critical to the provision of high quality, cost effective healthcare. Metrics of performance have to date focused on the performance of...

Validation of the acute cholecystectomy rate as a quality indicator for emergency general surgery using the SWORD database.

Despite an increasing emphasis on data-driven quality improvement, few validated quality indicators for emergency surgical services have been published. The aims of this study therefore were: 1) to investigate whether the acute cholecystectomy rate is a valid process indicator; and 2) to use this rate to examine variation in the provision of acute cholecystectomy in England. The Surgical Workload and Outcomes Research Database (SWORD), derived from the Hospital Episode Statistics database, was interrogated for the 2012-2017 financial years. All adult patients admitted with acute biliary pancreatitis, cholecystitis or biliary colic to hospitals in England were included and the acute cholecystectomy rate in each one examined. A total of 328,789 patients were included, of whom 42,642 (12.9%) underwent an acute cholecystectomy. The acute cholecystectomy rate varied significantly between hospitals, with the overall rate ranging from 1.2% to 36.5%. This variation was consistent across all disease groupings and time periods, and was independent of the annual number of procedures performed by each NHS trust. In 41 (29.9%) trusts, fewer than one in ten patients with acute gallbladder disease underwent cholecystectomy within two weeks. The acute cholecystectomy rate is easily measurable using routine administrative datasets, modifiable by local services and has a strong evidence base linking it to patient outcomes. We therefore advocate that it is an ideal process indicator that should be used in quality monitoring and improvement. Using it, we identified significant variation in the quality of care for acute biliary disease in England.

Quality and outcomes in global cancer surgery: protocol for a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study (GlobalSurg 3)

IntroductionEmpirical, observational data relating to the diagnosis, management and outcome of three common worldwide cancers requiring surgery is lacking. However, it has been demonstrated that patients in low/middle-income countries undergoing...

Outcomes of surgery in patients aged ≥90 years in the general surgical setting.

Introduction An increasing proportion of the population is living into their nineties and beyond. These high risk patients are now presenting more frequently to both elective and emergency surgical services. There is limited research looking at outcomes of general surgical procedures in nonagenarians and centenarians to guide surgeons assessing these cases. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of all patients aged ≥90 years undergoing elective and emergency general surgical procedures at a tertiary care facility between 2009 and 2015. Vascular, breast and endocrine procedures were excluded. Patient demographics and characteristics were collated. Primary outcomes were 30-day and 90-day mortality rates. The impact of ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) grade, operation severity and emergency presentation was assessed using multivariate analysis. Results Overall, 161 patients (58 elective, 103 emergency) were identified for inclusion in the study. The mean patient age was 92.8 years (range: 90-106 years). The 90-day mortality rates were 5.2% and 19.4% for elective and emergency procedures respectively (p=0.013). The median survival was 29 and 19 months respectively (p=0.001). Emergency and major gastrointestinal operations were associated with a significant increase in mortality. Patients undergoing emergency major colonic or upper gastrointestinal surgery had a 90-day mortality rate of 53.8%. Conclusions The risk for patients aged over 90 years having an elective procedure differs significantly in the short term from those having emergency surgery. In selected cases, elective surgery carries an acceptable mortality risk. Emergency surgery is associated with a significantly increased risk of death, particularly after major gastrointestinal resections.

Extremities Trauma in Emergency Unit of Al-karama Hospital-Alkut city- Wassit province

Extremity wounds compose the burden of injury in Emergency Unit in Alkarama hospital and there is a great need for research to improve the treatment of patient who incur these devastating injuries.Objective: The aim of this project was to define the epidemiological profile of the patients attended in Emergency Unit in Al-karama hospital regarding the upper and lower limb trauma.Methods: Authors and trained assistants collected data with aid of a simple proforma was designed to collect basic demographic data , type of accident,type of injury in general, type of management , site of injury in the body, place of management and the last result of this management, A total number of 189 cases were included in this study. The period of the present study extended from October 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011.Results: Most cases of this present study were male (67.7%) . The commonest causes of trauma admissions were musculoskeletal injuries to the extremities (41.8%). RTA are the major cause of extremity trauma (31.7%) . This study shows that trauma of the upper limb is (63.5%) . (52.9% ) of present study were managed in surgical ward. According to faith of the patient,the present study show that (55.5%) had complet healing&#x0D; Conclusion: Extremity wounds compose the burden of injury in Emergency Unit in Al-karama hospital.So in conclusion the demands of providing quality affordable emergency surgical services in the setting of a developing country are enormous and will continue to rise . There must be adequate government support as well institutional commitment to the development of its human and structural resources to meet these needs .