Search

Purpose: Anastomotic leakage after small bowel resection in emergency laparotomy is a severe complication. A consensus on the risk factors for anastomotic leakage has not been established, and it is still unclear if peritonitis is a risk factor. This systematic review aimed to evaluate if an entero-entero/entero-colonic anastomosis is safe in patients with peritonitis undergoing abdominal acute care surgery. Methods: A systematic literature review based on PRISMA guidelines was performed, searching the databases Pubmed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct for studies of anastomosis in peritonitis. Patients with an anastomosis after non-planned small bowel resection (ischemia, perforation, or strangulation), including secondary peritonitis, were included. Elective laparotomies and colo-colonic anastomoses were excluded. Due to the etiology, traumatic perforation, in-vitro, and animal studies were excluded. Results: This review identified 26 studies of small-bowel anastomosis in peritonitis with a total of 2807 patients. This population included a total of 889 small-bowel/right colonic resections with anastomoses, and 242 enterostomies. All studies, except two, were retrospective reviews or case series. The overall mortality rates were 0–20% and anastomotic leakage rates 0–36%. After performing a risk of bias evaluation there was no basis for conducting a meta-analysis. The quality of evidence was rated as low. Conclusion: There was no evidence to refute performing a primary small-bowel anastomosis in acute laparotomy with peritonitis. There is currently insufficient evidence to label peritonitis as a risk factor for anastomotic leakage in acute care laparotomy with small-bowel resection. Trial registration: The review was registered with the PROSPERO register of systematic reviews on 14/07/2020 with the ID: CRD42020168670.

Purpose: Burst abdomen is a serious complication commonly observed after emergency midline laparotomy. Sarcopenia has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality after abdominal surgery. This single-center, retrospective, matched case–control study aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and burst abdomen in patients undergoing emergency midline laparotomy. Methods: Patients who had burst abdomen after emergency midline laparotomy were matched 1:4 with controls based on age and sex. Abdominal wall closure was standardized in the study period with the small bites, small stitches technique. CT assessed psoas cross-sectional area was used as a surrogate measure of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was defined as the sex-specific lowest quartile of psoas cross-sectional area adjusted for body surface area. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of sarcopenia amongst cases and controls. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for burst abdomen and death that were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: 67 cases were matched to 268 controls during May 2016–December 2019. BMI > 30 kg/m2, liver cirrhosis, smoking, high ASA score and peritonitis were more frequently observed among cases. Multivariate analysis revealed that sarcopenia (odds ratio (OR) 2.3, p = 0.01), active smoking (OR 2.3, p = 0.006) and liver cirrhosis (OR 3.7, p = 0.042) were significantly associated with burst abdomen. ASA score ≥ 3 (OR 5.5, p = 0.001) and ongoing malignant disease (OR 3.2, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with increased 90-day mortality. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is associated with increased risk of burst abdomen after midline laparotomy. Prospective trials are needed.

Background: Despite the importance of predicting adverse postoperative outcomes, functional performance status as a proxy for frailty has not been systematically evaluated in emergency abdominal surgery. Our aim was to evaluate if the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score was independently associated with mortality following high-risk emergency abdominal surgery, in a multicentre, retrospective, observational study of a consecutive cohort.Methods: All patients aged 18 or above undergoing high-risk emergency laparotomy or laparoscopy from four emergency surgical centres in the Capitol Region of Denmark, from January 1 to December 31, 2012, were included. Demographics, preoperative status, ECOG performance score, mortality, and surgical characteristics were registered. The association of frailty with postoperative mortality was evaluated using multiple regression models. Likelihood ratio test was applied for goodness of fit.Results: In total, 1084 patients were included in the cohort; unadjusted 30-day mortality was 20.2%. ECOG performance score was independently associated with 30-day mortality. Odds ratio for mortality was 1.70 (95% CI (1.0, 2.9)) in patients with ECOG performance score of 1, compared with 5.90 (95% CI (1.8, 19.0)) in patients with ECOG performance score of 4 (p < 0.01). Likelihood ratio test suggests improvement in fit of logistic regression modelling of 30-day postoperative mortality when including ECOG performance score as an explanatory variable.Conclusions: This study found ECOG performance score to be independently associated with the postoperative 30-day mortality among patients undergoing high-risk emergency laparotomy. The utility of including functional performance in a preoperative risk assessment model of emergency laparotomy should be evaluated.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by an ulcer is a common condition with approximately 1,500 admissions a year. The mortality is roughly 9%, with an increased risk in elderly with multiple comorbidities. First-line treatment is endoscopic double therapy. If haemostasis is not achieved and/or repeated rebleeding occurs, the choice of treatment is transarterial embolisation (TAE) or traditional surgery. TAE has a higher rate of rebleeding than surgery, but the mortality is comparable, and TAE has fewer complications. Prophylactic TAE may reduce the rate of re-intervention in patients, who have a high risk of rebleeding.

Acute abdomen is a common cause of admission to hospital. Emergency laparotomy is associated with a significant morbidity and mortality due to deranged physiology and surgery-induced stress. Damage control laparotomy is on the rise as an operative strategy for the septic abdomen as well as for trauma laparotomy but lacks definition in the non-trauma setting. Principles of perioperative care in elective surgery are currently applied to the emergency abdominal surgery patients and should be further studied in the future to reduce morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE: In elective surgery, it is well documented that a midline laparotomy should be closed with a slowly absorbable monofilament suture material in a continuous technique, in a ratio of at least 4 : 1. The evidence concerning the suture material or suturing technique in the emergency setting is lacking. We aimed to investigate whether this technique would reduce the rate of dehiscence.METHODS: A standardized procedure of closing the midline laparotomy by using a "small steps" technique of continuous suturing with a slowly absorbable (polydioxanone) suture material in a wound-suture ratio of minimum 1 : 4 was introduced in June 2014. All patients scheduled for any gastrointestinal emergency midline laparotomy were included until October 2015. Pre-, intra-, and postoperative data were registered. All emergency laparotomies performed from 2009 to 2013 served as reference. Chi-squared tests and multivariate Cox regression analysis were performed.RESULTS: We included 494 patients from 2014 to 2015 and 1079 patients from our historical cohort for comparison. All patients had a midline laparotomy in an emergency setting. The rate of dehiscence was reduced from 6.6% to 3.8%, P = 0.03 comparing year 2009 to 2013 with 2014 to 2015. Factors associated with dehiscence were male gender [hazard ratio (HR) 2.8, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) (1.8-4.4), P < 0.001], performance status ≥3 [HR 2.1, 95% CI (1.2-3.7), P = 0.006], cirrhosis [HR 3.8, 95% CI (1.5-9.5), P = 0.004], and retention sutures [HR 2.8, 95% CI (1.6-4.9), P < 0.000]. The 30-day mortality rate was 18.4% in the standardized group vs 22.4% in 2009 to 2013, P = 0.057 and 90-day mortality 24.2% vs 30.4%, P = 0.008.CONCLUSION: The standardized procedure of closing the midline laparotomy by using a "small steps" technique of continuous suturing with a slowly absorbable (polydioxanone) suture material reduces the rate of fascial dehiscence.

PURPOSE: Emergency abdominal surgery results in a high rate of post-operative complications and death. There are limited data describing the emergency surgical population in details. We aimed to give a detailed analyses of complications and mortality in a consecutive group of patients undergoing acute abdominal surgery over a 4-year period.METHODS: This observational study was conducted between 2009 and 2013 at Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Denmark. All patients scheduled for emergency laparotomy or laparoscopy were included. Pre-, intra-, and post-operative data were collected from medical records. Complications were registered according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for mortality.RESULTS: A total of 4,346 patients underwent emergency surgery, of whom 14 % had surgical complications and 23 % medical complications. The overall 30-day mortality was 8 % with 50 % of those in this group over 80 years of age. The 30-day mortality rates were 0.8 % (95 % CI 0.5-1.1) and 17 % (95 % CI 15.5-18.9), respectively, for the laparoscopy and the laparotomy groups. The overall death rate within 24 h of surgery was 21 %. Several risk factors for 30- and 90-day mortality were identified: age, ASA ≥3 (American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status classification), performance score (Zubroed/WHOclassification), cirrhosis of the liver, chronic nephropathy, several medical conditions, and malignancy.CONCLUSION: Almost one in five patients died after emergency laparotomy, of whom one in five died within 24 h of surgery. Predictors for poor outcome were identified.

INTRODUCTIONS: To identify risk factors for increased 30-day morbidity and mortality, using standardized measuring tools for the characterization of complications after emergency surgery for small bowel obstruction.METHODS: A retrospective cohort study including patients treated with emergency laparotomy for small bowel obstruction at a Copenhagen University Hospital (2009-2013). Complications were evaluated according to the Clavien-Dindo classification.RESULTS: A total of 323 patients were included. The overall 30-day morbidity and mortality rates were 28% and 13%, respectively. Six covariates were identified as independent risk factors associated with morbidity by multiple logistic regression analysis. The highest odds for morbidity were seen in patients with chronic nephropathy (Odds Ratio [OR] = 3.9; 95% CI 1.3-15.1), and in patients with a daily use of steroids (OR = 3.5; 95% CI 1.2-10.4). Five independent risk factors were associated with increased odds for mortality. Patients with low physical performance (OR = 3.4; 95% CI 1.3-8.2) or metabolic disorders (OR = 3.2; 95% CI 1.2-8.5) had the highest risk of mortality.CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity and mortality rates were high in this study compared with other studies. Several comorbid conditions were associated with morbidity and mortality. These results may aid the acute care surgeon in identifying patients with a high-risk for postoperative complications and fatal outcomes.