Assessment of the emergency surgical patient

It is well known that emergency surgical patients have a higher risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality than those having elective procedures. A systematic preoperative assessment forms an important part of identifying risk factors and reducing their impact. Patients may require simultaneous resuscitation and assessment. Further deterioration in the patient’s condition must not occur as a result of delays in decision making or awaiting results of investigations. A risk assessment score is useful for both surgeons and patients to provide information on possible postoperative outcomes. It will aid discussion for informed consent and guide planning of staffing for surgery and postoperative care location.     

Assessment of the emergency surgical patient

In 2011 the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Department of Health published a report on the perioperative care of the higher risk general surgical patient. In the same year a National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report looked into the process of care for patients undergoing surgery and highlighted areas which could be improved. Both bodies have highlighted steps needed to ensure that the risk of further deterioration in high-risk patients is matched with urgency of diagnostic testing, seniority of clinician in decision-making, timing of surgery and crucially, appropriate clinical location for postoperative care. Assessment of the emergency surgical patient should be performed and repeated throughout the patient pathway. Timely gathering of relevant information and simultaneous optimization of the patient for anaesthesia and surgery are required. A formal risk assessment score should be used to guide perioperative management, inform the patient and improve outcomes.     

Evaluation of a modified emergency surgical acuity score in predicting operative and non-operative mortality and morbidity in an acute surgical unit

Background

Emergency general surgery (EGS) patients have an increased risk of mortality and morbidity compared to other surgical patients. Limited risk assessment tools exist for use in both operative and non-operative EGS patients. We assessed the accuracy of a modified Emergency Surgical Acuity Score (mESAS) in EGS patients at our institution.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study from an acute surgical unit at a tertiary referral hospital was performed. Primary endpoints assessed included death before discharge, length of stay (LOS) >5 days and unplanned readmission within 28 days. Operative and non-operative patients were analysed separately. Validation was performed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC), Brier score and Hosmer-Lemeshow test.

Results

A total of 1763 admissions between March 2018 and June 2021 were included for analysis. The mESAS was an accurate predictor of both death before discharge (AUROC 0.979, Brier score 0.007, Hosmer–Lemeshow P = 0.981) and LOS >5 days (0.787, 0.104, and 0.253, respectively). The mESAS was less accurate in predicting readmission within 28 days (0.639, 0.040, and 0.887, respectively). The mESAS retained its predictive ability for death before discharge and LOS >5 days in the split cohort analysis.

Conclusion

This study is the first to validate a modified ESAS in a non-operatively managed EGS population internationally and the first to validate the mESAS in Australia. The mESAS accurately predicts death before discharge and prolonged LOS for all EGS patients, providing a highly useful tool for surgeons and EGS units worldwide.     

Sub-specialization in general surgery: the problem of providing a safe emergency general surgical service

BACKGROUND: The increasing subspecialization of general surgeons in their elective work may result in deskilling and create problems in providing expert care for emergency cases. To evaluate the size of the problem this study determined how often complex emergency surgical cases are treated by general surgeons working outside their own elective subspecialty. METHOD: In a district general hospital in the south of the UK serving a population of 550 000 where there is almost complete subspecialization within general surgery, 1554 patients having emergency general surgical operations were studied in a one-year review. The time an operation occurred, the seniority of the operating surgeon, the subspecialty interest of the consultant responsible for the case compared with the specialist nature of the operation was determined. RESULTS: Of 1554 patients having emergency general surgical operations, 23% (352/1554) were of a high category of complexity. Ninety were vascular procedures and were dealt with by specialist vascular surgeons on a separate rota. Of the remaining 262 operations, 78 (30%) did not match the subspecialty of the consultant surgeon responsible for their care; 56 (72%) of these occurred out of hours of which 14 (18%) had a consultant surgeon present and scrubbed in the theatre; one per month of the study. Seventy-three percent (57/78) of these were complex colorectal operations. CONCLUSION: The mismatch between the subspecialist elective interests of the consultant general surgeon and out of hours specialist major surgery needing consultant involvement occurred infrequently, and was mainly due to major lower gastrointestinal cases managed by upper gastrointestinal and breast surgeons. This has important implications for the future training of general surgeons and the provision of an emergency nonvascular general surgical service.     

The acute surgical unit: improving emergency care

Background: Acute care surgical teams are a new concept in the provision of emergency general surgery. Juggling emergency patients around the surgeons' and staffs' elective commitments resulted in semi‐emergency procedures routinely being delayed. In an era of increasing financial pressure and the recent introduction of ‘safe work hours’ practices, the need for a new system which optimized available resources became apparent. Methods: At Fremantle Hospital we developed a new system in a concerted effort to minimize the waiting time for general surgical referrals in the Emergency Department, as well as to move semi‐urgent operating from the afterhours to the daytime. To analyse the impact of the ASU, data were collected during February, March, and April 2009 and compared with data from the same period in 2008. Results: Although most referrals were received afterhours, over 85% of operations were performed during working hours compared with 72% in the 2008 period. The time from referral to review decreased from an average of 3.2 h in 2008 to 2.1 h. The mean duration of stay in 2009 was 3 days, which was a reduction from 4.2 days in 2008. An increase in weekend discharge rates was seen after the introduction of the ASU. Conclusion: Despite an increased workload, more referrals were seen and more operations performed during working hours and the time from referral to review was reduced. Higher discharge rates and reduced length of stays increased the availability of beds. We have demonstrated a successful new model which continues to evolve.     

应用整形美容外科技术急诊颌面部损伤临床总结

目的：对于颌面部软组织损伤患者采用整形美容外科技术进行清创缝合,减少颌面部瘢痕畸形,尽可能恢复解剖形态及生理功能。方法：急诊颌面部损伤时,应用整形美容外科技术,尽量保留组织资源,进行颌面部创面修复。结果：共治疗242例患者,创口均Ⅰ期愈合,无感染、血肿等并发症发生,6个月后随访无瘢痕增生、挛缩,不需Ⅱ期整形。结论：应用整形美容外科技术进行颌面部创面修复后,提高了愈合质量,避免颌面部瘢痕畸形增生。     

Validation of the NELA risk prediction model in emergency abdominal surgery

Risk prediction models are frequently used to identify high-risk patients undergoing emergency laparotomy. The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) developed a risk prediction model specifically for emergency laparotomy patients, which was recently updated. In this study, we validated the updated NELA model in an external population. Furthermore, we compared it with three other risk prediction models: the original NELA model, the Portsmouth Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity (P-POSSUM) model, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS). We included adult patients undergoing emergency laparotomy at Zealand University Hospital, from March 2017 to January 2019, and Herlev Hospital, from November 2017 to January 2020. Variables included in the risk prediction models were collected retrospectively from the electronic patient records. Discrimination of the risk prediction models was evaluated with area under the curve (AUC) statistics, and calibration was assessed with Cox calibration regression. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Out of 1226 included patients, 146 patients (11.9%) died within 30 days. AUC (95% confidence interval) for 30-day mortality was 0.85 (0.82–0.88) for the updated NELA model, 0.84 (0.81–0.87) for the original NELA model, 0.81 (0.77–0.84) for the P-POSSUM model, and 0.76 (0.72–0.79) for the ASA-PS model. Calibration showed underestimation of mortality risk for both the updated NELA, original NELA and P-POSSUM models. The updated NELA risk prediction model performs well in this external validation study and may be used in similar settings. However, the model should only be used to discriminate between low- and high-risk patients, and not for prediction of individual risk due to underestimation of mortality.     

Challenges in Cardiac Risk Assessment in Bariatric Surgery Patients

Bariatric surgery has serious associated medical comorbidity and procedure-related risks and is thus considered an intermediate- to high-risk noncardiac surgery. Most patients referred for bariatric surgery have a low or very low functional capacity, making cardiac risk assessment imperative. Stress echocardiography has a high negative predictive value and can avoid some of the table weight and torso diameter problems associated with myocardial perfusion imaging. Echocardiograph contrast agents improve the ability to identify endocardial borders and assess ventricular wall motion and may be used with stress and nonstress imaging protocols. Single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) imaging with attenuation correction, combined supine and prone imaging, use of technetium isotope, and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging may all provide some advantage for myocardial perfusion imaging for the obese patient.     

Objective assessment of endoscopic surgical skills by analyzing direction-dependent dexterity using the Hiroshima University Endoscopic Surgical Assessment Device (HUESAD)

PURPOSE: We evaluated our system of objectively assessing endoscopic surgical skills. METHODS: We developed the Hiroshima University Endoscopic Surgical Assessment Device (HUESAD), which records the movement of the tip of an endoscopic instrument precisely. The orbits of experienced surgeons (expert group) and those of medical students (novice group) were evaluated by measuring the deviation from the ideal course on horizontal and vertical planes. These data were integrated with the time taken to move the tip of an endoscopic instrument between a distal side pole (A) and a proximal side pole (C) (Task 1), and between a left side pole (D) and a right side pole (B) (Task 2). RESULTS: The integrated deviation of the expert group was significantly lower than that of the novice group on both the horizontal and vertical planes in Task 1 (P = 0.0004, P = 0.009) and Task 2 (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0002). Thus, the spatial perception of experts was significantly better than that of novices. We also found that the direction of the scope and the movement of the endoscopic instrument were related to difficulties in spatial perception for both experts and novices. HUESAD detected and resolved these differences based on the directions of the scope and movement of the endoscopic instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The HUESAD is a reliable system for assessing a surgeon's dexterity, based on direction and movement. It helps us to attain a higher degree of accuracy and to create an ideal setting for optimal endoscopic surgery.     

Preoperative evaluation of the patient with cardiorespiratory diseases

Cardiorespiratory complications are amongst the most common causes of postoperative morbidity and mortality and impose a significant financial burden on the NHS. Patients with premorbid cardiorespiratory diseases can be identified preoperatively with a thorough history taking along with targeted investigations. Preoperative evaluation, risk assessment and stratification allow for clear identification of higher risk patients who would benefit from preoperative medical optimization, appropriate planning of perioperative care including anaesthetic management, modification of surgical procedure, and the level of postoperative care required as a part of risk reduction strategies.     

Assessment of the pregnant trauma patient

Although less than 10% of pregnant patients are likely to experience some type of physical trauma, injury is the leading non-obstetric cause of maternal mortality. The assessment and resuscitation of the injured pregnant patient must take into account the specific needs of both the mother and the foetus. This paper will review the physiology of pregnancy, discuss recent changes in assessment and resuscitation, and identify special injuries and issues specific to the pregnant trauma patient.     

Management of oral anticoagulation in the surgical patient

New oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have recently emerged as an alternative for vitamin K antagonists and are now widely available. Although there is good evidence for their roles in the appropriate clinical settings, so far no reversal agent is currently available. Likewise, there is no readily available laboratory test to quantify drug levels but coagulation assays may provide qualitative information about the presence of some NOACs. We aim to review the current literature regarding the optimal management of oral anticoagulation in the perioperative setting.     

改良POSSUM评分系统在高龄普外科患者中的应用

目的评价改良POSSUM评分系统在高龄普外科病人中的应用价值。方法回顾性分析245例75岁以上的普外科手术病人的术后并发症率和死亡率，并与改良POSSUM评分系统预测的结果进行比较。结果改良POSSUM评分系统预测的并发症发生率为49.80％，死亡率为14.29％。实际并发症发生率为35.51％，死亡率为4.89％。结论在高危组病例中改良POSSUM评分系统更具有使用价值。     

Assessment of surgical skills of trainees in the UK

Surgical training and assessment in the UK has been criticised in the past for lacking transparency, reliability and validity. The new Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) has a well-defined, competence-based syllabus and a system of workplace-based assessments and examinations that map to the syllabus. The main aims of workplace-based assessment are to aid learning through objective feedback and to provide evidence that the competencies required to progress to the next level of training have been achieved. Reduction in surgical experience means that more training will need to be undertaken on simulations, although experience and assessment in the operating room must remains the 'gold-standard'. Simulation training will require the provision of properly resourced surgical skills facilities in every hospital. The key to reliable assessment and constructive feedback is well-trained trainers. Training is a skill that must be learned, and assessment and feedback techniques form part of this. In surgery, it has been assumed that all consultants are trainers but this is clearly not the case. Surgeons will need to follow the example of primary care, where trainers are selected from experienced general practitioners who demonstrate enthusiasm and ability. The reward for the trainer should be protected time for training. The reward for the National Health Service will be better trained surgeons.     

Octogenarians: an increasing challenge for acute care and colorectal surgeons. An outcomes analysis of emergency colorectal surgery in the elderly

Aim Emergency surgery is associated with higher mortality rates, especially in elderly patients presenting with emergent colorectal disease. The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes in elderly patients following emergency colorectal resection, with particular focus on octogenarians who presented a sixfold higher mortality rate with respect to other patients. Method This study examined 355 patients who underwent surgery at an Emergency Department for complications of colorectal disease between January 2007 and December 2009. Morbidity and mortality were analyzed on the basis of patients’ characteristics and presentation. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were performed on morbidity and mortality risk factors. Results Two‐hundred and fifteen patients of > 65 years of age were included, 93 of whom were ≥ 80 years of age. The global mortality rate was 16%. In patients ≥ 80 years of age the mortality rate was 30%. The difference in mortality rate between patients < 80 years of age vs patients ≥ 80 years of age was 24%. In resected patients ≥ 80 years of age, American Society of Anesthesiology grade, colonic ischaemia, neurological comorbidity and anastomotic dehiscence were identified as independent risk factors in both univariate and logistic regression analyses. The morbidity rate was approximately 17%, and no significant difference in morbidity was found between the two groups. Conclusion The results of this study show that fitness status and micro vascular impairment impact significantly on mortality in the elderly, particularly in octogenarians. Although the outcomes observed were compatible with the literature, the six fold higher mortality rate observed in the most elderly patients identifies a group for which death prevention is best achieved with aggressive resuscitation and intensive postoperative care, rather than timing of surgery.