A 30-day prospective audit of all inpatient complications following acute care surgery: How well do we really perform?

Background Acute care surgery (ACS) and emergency general surgery (EGS) services must provide timely care and intervention for patients who have some of the most challenging needs. Patients treated by ACS services are often critically ill and have both substantial comorbidities and poor physiologic reserve. Despite the widespread implemention of ACS/EGS services across North America, the true postoperative morbidity rates remain largely unknown. Methods In this prospective study, inpatients at 8 high-volume ACS/EGS centres in geographically diverse locations in Canada who underwent operative interventions were followed for 30 days or until they were discharged. Readmissions during the 30-day window were also captured. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative variables were tracked. Standard statistical methodology was employed. Results A total of 601 ACS/EGS patients were followed for up to 30 inpatient or readmission days after their index emergent operation. Fifty-one percent of patients were female, and the median age was 51 years. They frequently had substantial medical comorbidities (42%) and morbid obesity (15%). The majority of procedures were minimally invasive (66% laparoscopic). Median length of stay was 3.3 days and the early readmission (< 30 d) rate was 6%. Six percent of patients were admitted to the critical care unit. The overall complication and mortality rates were 34% and 2%, respectively. Cholecystitis (31%), appendicitis (21%), bowel obstruction (18%), incarcerated hernia (12%), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (7%) and soft tissue infections (7%) were the most common diagnoses. The morbidity and mortality rates for open surgical procedures were 73% and 5%, respectively. Conclusion Nontrauma ACS/EGS procedures are associated with a high postoperative morbidity rate. This study will serve as a prospective benchmark for postoperative complications among ACS/EGS patients and subsequent quality improvement across Canada. Contexte Les services de chirurgie dans les unites de soins actifs (CSA) et de chirurgie generale dans les services d'urgence (CGSU) doivent fournir rapidement des soins et des interventions a des patients dont les besoins sont parmi les plus complexes. En effet, les patients pris en charge par les services de CSA sont souvent gravement malades et presentent des comorbidites sur fond de faible reserve physiologique. Meme si les services de CSA/CGSU se sont repandus en Amerique du Nord, les taux reels de morbidite postoperatoire demeurent pour une bonne part inconnus. Methodes Dans cette etude prospective, on a suivi pendant 30 jours ou jusqu'a leur conge, les patients hospitalises pour des interventions chirurgicales dans 8 centres de CSA/CGSU achalandes de divers endroits au Canada. On a egalement tenu compte des readmissions dans les 30 jours. Les parametres pre-, per- et postoperatoires ont ete enregistres. Une methodologie statistique standard a ete appliquee. Resultats En tout, 601 patients de CSA/CGSU ont ainsi ete suivis pendant une duree allant jusqu'a 30 jours d'hospitalisation ou de readmission apres leur intervention urgente initiale. Cinquante et un pour cent etaient de sexe feminin et l'age moyen etait de 51 ans. Ces patients etaient nombreux a presenter des comorbidites de nature medicale substantielles (42 %) et une obesite morbide (15 %). La majorite des interventions ont ete minimalement effractives (66 % laparoscopiques). La duree mediane des sejours a ete de 3,3 jours et le taux de readmission precoce (< 30 j) a ete de 6 %. Six pour cent des patients ont ete admis aux soins intensifs. Les taux globaux de complications et de mortalite ont ete respectivement de 34 % et de 2 %. Cholecystite (31 %), appendicite (21 %), obstruction intestinale (18 %), hernie incarceree (12 %), hemorragie digestive (7 %) et infections des tissus mous (7 %) comptent parmi les diagnostics les plus frequents. Les taux de morbidite et de mortalite dans les cas de chirurgies ouvertes ont ete respectivement de 73 % et 5 %. Conclusion Les interventions de CSA/CGSU non liees a la traumatologie sont associees a un taux de morbidite postoperatoire eleve. Cette etude fournira un ensemble de valeurs de references pour l'etude prospective des complications chez les patients pris en charge par les services de CSA/CGSU et l'amelioration subsequente des soins partout au Canada.