A 25-year study of emergency surgical admissions

BACKGROUND: Numbers of emergencies are increasing, but no comprehensive data are available for emergency surgical admissions. This study documents the changes over 25 years in a district general hospital. METHODS: Details of all general surgical (including urological) emergency admissions were analysed for every fourth calendar year from 1974 to 1998. RESULTS: A total of 19,931 patients were admitted during the 7 years studied, rising from 2137 in 1974 to 3578 in 1994 (3377 in 1998). Mean age increased from 47.9 years to 52.6 years while mean length of stay fell from 9.5 days to 5.3 days. Hospital mortality decreased from 6.6% to 3.7%. When calculated per 100,000 population, the increase in admission rate was significant (P < 0.001) but bed requirements did not increase despite the increase in workload. Several diagnoses became significantly more frequent (ruptured aortic aneurysm, gallstones, constipation, cutaneous abscess, diverticular disease, gastroenteritis, non-specific abdominal pain, pilonidal sinus and urinary diagnoses). Appendicitis and non-malignant intestinal obstruction became significantly less common. CONCLUSIONS: This study has documented a progressive increase in surgical admissions. Despite increasing age of patients, lengths of stay and hospital mortality have decreased.     

The dedicated emergency surgeon: towards consultant-based acute surgical admissions

INTRODUCTION

The management of an efficient acute surgical service with conflicting pressures of managing elective and emergency work, compounded by waiting list targets and the maximum 4-h wait for patients in accident and emergency poses a significant challenge. We assess the impact of appointing a dedicated emergency surgeon on the delivery of our emergency surgery service.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A comparative retrospective review was undertaken of all surgical admissions (n = 1622) over a 9-month period (between February and November) in the year before and after (2004 and 2005) the appointment of a dedicated emergency surgeon. The impact on service, training and possible financial consequences of this appointment was assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 798 surgical admissions in 2004 were compared with 824 admissions in 2005 for the 9-month periods of this study. In 2004, 258 patients were operated on compared with 286 in 2005 (NS). There was a significant increase in day-time operating from 57% in 2004 to 74% in 2005 (P < 0.001) and a significant increase in consultant-supervised operations from 14% to 52% (P < 0.001), with a consequent fall in out-of-hours operating (43% to 26%; P < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant increase in early (within 48 h) discharges from 41% to 53% (P < 0.001). The salary of the new appointment is more than offset by the quantifiable savings of approximately £90,000 per annum based on the increased proportion of earlier discharges alone as well as the improved quality of care provided.

CONCLUSIONS

The appointment of a dedicated emergency surgery consultant has resulted in an increase in day-time consultant-supervised operating, shorter hospital stay for emergency admissions, improved training for surgical trainees, as well as providing potential financial savings for the trust.     

Continuity of care of emergency surgical admissions: impact on SpR training

INTRODUCTION: Continuity of patient care is an important component of surgical education. This study assesses continuity of care in the current working climate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected prospectively on consecutive emergency general surgical admissions during one month. Our SpR rota is a partial shift 24 hour on call with the SpR's own consultant. The SpR is free of commitments the next day following post-take work. The on call general surgery SpR was designated the 'assessor'. Data were analysed according to involvement of the 'assessor' at subsequent stages of the admission--consent, operation, review during admission and review on discharge. Data were also collected defining whether the 'assessor' and operator followed-up the patient. RESULTS: There were 200 admissions; 108 female and 92 male. Overall 23% admissions had the same 'assessor' for all stages of patient care. The 'assessor' dealt with an aspect of patient care in 11% of admissions who underwent an operation and 29% of admissions who were conservatively managed. SpR follow-up of admissions on whom they operated was 70% but only 41% of admissions who were conservatively managed were followed-up by the assessing SpR. CONCLUSION: Complete in-hospital continuity of care was poor, although SpR follow-up of patients on whom they had operated was better. Introduction of shift patterns has reduced continuity of patient care. This will have a negative impact on both surgical training and patient care.     

Comparative audit: an experimental study of 147,882 general surgical admissions during 1990.

In 1991, 1025 general surgical Fellows of The Royal College of Surgeons of England were circulated with a pro forma and asked to submit local audit results for admissions during 1990 to a confidential comparative audit service. The individual topics of cholecystectomy and colorectal resection were studied. Data returned by 160 surgeons concerned 147,882 admissions including 122,620 operations. Overall mortality rates ranged from 0 to 5 per cent and morbidity rates from 0 to 22 per cent. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was associated with one-quarter of the mortality rate and two-thirds the morbidity rate of open cholecystectomy. Of the 33 surgeons who responded to a survey after the presentation of results, all wished to continue the exercise in future years; 39 per cent had been stimulated to perform further analyses and 15 per cent had changed practice habits as a result. Comparative audit involving large numbers of patients and surgeons is feasible and seems beneficial to participants.     

Acute scrotal pain and swelling in children: a surgical emergency

The pediatric patient with acute scrotal pain and swelling can pose a difficult diagnostic problem. The therapeutic approach to these patients, however, need not be difficult. Despite the advent of Doppler ultrasonic equipment and technetium pertechnetate scanning to differentiate torsion of the testes from other causes of acute scrotal pain and swelling, the policy of emergency scrotal exploration in nearly all such pediatric patients seems to be most appropriate. The exception to this rule might be the rare child with frank pyuria and/or urinary tract infection in whom the diagnosis of epididymo-orchitis is suggested by all parameters.     

Practical surgical audit: a morbidity profile

A prospective study of 248 patients admitted consecutively under the care of a single surgeon was performed and data on a variety of patient details were collected daily during the period of their hospitalization. Analysis of the data identified four quantifiable indices of morbidity, namely duration of hospitalization, duration of intravenous infusion, analgesic requirement and antibiotic administration, which can be combined arithmetically and used to produce a morbidity profile. The use of such a profile may allow comparisons to be made between different units if applied to specific conditions and permit a more accurate assessment of overall patient morbidity than can be presently done using mortality rates.     

An unusual case in surgical emergency: Abdominal cocoon and its laparoscopic management

Small bowel obstruction associated with abdominal cocoon (AC) is a rarely encountered surgical emergency. This condition is characterised by a thick fibrous membrane which encases the small bowel partially or completely. It is usually difficult to be able to make a definitive diagnosis in the presence of obscure clinical and radiological findings. Diagnosis is usually made at laparotomy when the encasement of the small bowel within a cocoon-like sac is visualised. Here, we report on a 29-year-old male patient who presented with acute small bowel obstruction and was eventually diagnosed with AC at laparoscopy. In this case, laparoscopic excision of the fibrous sac and extensive adhesiolysis resulted in complete recovery. Although rare, the diagnosis of AC should be kept in cases of patients with intestinal obstruction combined with relevant imaging findings. Laparoscopy should also be considered for the management of this condition in suitable patients.     

POSSUM: a scoring system for surgical audit

POSSUM, a Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity, is described. This system has been devised from both a retrospective and prospective analysis and the present paper attempts to validate it prospectively. Logistic regression analysis yielded statistically significant equations for both mortality and morbidity (P less than 0.001). When displayed graphically zones of increasing morbidity and mortality rates could be defined which could be of value in surgical audit. The scoring system produced assessments for morbidity and mortality rates which did not significantly differ from observed rates.     

Neonatal pneumopericardium: a surgical emergency

Transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy has been utilized in 200 patients: 57 with benign disease and 143 with carcinomas at various levels of the esophagus (35 pharyngeal or cervicothoracic, 7 upper third, 47 middle third, and 54 distal third). Stomach has been used to replace the esophagus in 93% of patients undergoing single-stage esophagectomy and reconstruction, and colon has been used in 7%. Among patients with intrathoracic esophageal carcinomas, intraoperative blood loss averaged 1,000 ml, and the hospital mortality was 6%. No patient in the entire series has required a thoracotomy for control of bleeding, either during the esophagectomy or postoperatively. This report reviews the technical maneuvers that my collegues and I have found useful in performing transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy.     

Necrotizing fasciitis: a surgical emergency

Accurate assessment and timely interventions are critical in the treatment of patients affected with necrotizing fasciitis, a rare, fulminating, potentially life-threatening, infectious process of the soft tissues. Understanding the natural history and unique characteristics of this disease is crucial to achieve early recognition, effective management and a favorable patient outcome. Classic symptoms include severe pain, erythema, mottling, crepitus, skin anesthesia, warmth, tenderness, bullous formations and edema in the affected area and fever. This article aims at reviewing the information known about this disease, collected from various sources. Radical surgical debridement, broad-spectrum antibiotics, negative pressure wound therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are considered to be the cornerstones of treatment.     

Acute surgical admissions for abdominal pain in adults in Kumasi, Ghana

BACKGROUND: Abdominal pain of less than a weeks' duration is the presenting complaint in one of every five patients admitted to the surgical Accidents and Emergency Ward of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. This study is a prospective one, to determine the cause of abdominal pain in a large number of patients. METHODS: A monthly audit of discharge summaries for all patients admitted with acute abdominal pain was prepared and transferred to a special study pro forma to provide data over the 84-month period from January 1998 to December 2004. RESULTS: There were 3114 patients, 2070 men and 1044 women. The ages ranged from 15 to 95 years. The seven most common causes of the admissions were acute appendicitis 698 (22.4%), typhoid ileal perforation (506) 16.2%, acute intestinal obstruction 391 (12.6%), gastroduodenal perforations 342 (11.0%), non-specific abdominal pain 306 (9.8%), abdominal injures 260 (8.3%) and acute cholecystitis 102 (3.2%). There were 1976 (63.4%) emergency operations. Appendicectomy was a common operation that was carried out (638 cases or 32.3%). Two hundred and thirty patients (7.4%) died. Thirty-five patients died before and 195 after operation. Of these 230 deaths, 110 (47.8%) reported to the hospital after three or more days of illness. Twenty-six per cent and 23.7% of postoperative deaths occurred after emergency colonic resections and closure of gastroduodenal perforations, respectively. CONCLUSION: Acute appendicitis, typhoid ileal perforation, acute intestinal obstruction and gastroduodenal perforations were the leading causes of acute admissions for abdominal pain to our hospital. Late presentation was associated with increased mortality.     

Inpatient management of piles: a surgical audit.

A retrospective study was performed on 160 patients admitted to the University Surgical Unit between July 1975 and November 1989 with haemorrhoidal disease. Patients' records were analysed with respect to predisposing factors, inpatient management, postoperative analgesia, hospital stay and post-management complications. One hundred and nineteen patients had haemorrhoidectomy (low ligation combined with an anal stretch). Of these, 1.6% developed urinary retention and 4.2% bled postoperatively but did not require surgical intervention. Ten patients were found to have tight anal canals post surgery and required outpatient anal dilatation. In no case was dilatation necessary for more than 3 months. Three patients required a therapeutic course of antibiotics. Of the 119 patients, 60 required narcotic analgesia for less than 24 hours. Hospital stay was 1-4 nights.     

Developing a system for surgical audit

A system for surgical audit, which has been developed during a 6 year period in an active surgical unit of a teaching hospital, is described. Following a review of the first 3 years of our computerized audit, major modifications to the audit processes and computer program were made. The key lessons for systematic practical surgical audit include the collection of essential data only, establishing audit processes within current department practices, verification of data by consultants, and the provision of incentives for all users. The current system is proving a valuable resource for quality assurance, surgical training and departmental management.