ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2003
Appendectomies in rural hospitals. Safe whether performed by specialist or GP surgeons.
Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Monitoring and evaluation strategies for surgical task-shifting and task-sharing interventions: a scoping review.Human resources for health · 2026Article
- Quality indicators for rural surgical and obstetrical care: A modified Delphi consensus study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Delivery of essential surgery by family physicians.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2020Article
- Learners' experiences of an enhanced surgical skills training program for family physicians.Canadian medical education journal · 2018Article
- A proposal for the curriculum and evaluation for training rural family physicians in enhanced surgical skills.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie · 2015Review
- The impact of launching surgery at the district level in Niger.World journal of surgery · 2009Article
- Rural surgery in British Columbia: is there anybody out there?Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie · 2008Article
- Comparison of outcomes after appendectomy in First Nations and non-First Nations patients in Northern Alberta.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgieReview
- Rural surgical and obstetric facility-level outcomes for index procedures: a retrospective cohort study (2016-2021).Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgieObservational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare outcomes of appendectomies performed in rural hospitals by specialist surgeons and GP surgeons.
designRetrospective analysis of the Canadian Institute for Health Information's (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) 1996-1999.
settingRural hospitals in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
participantsAll surgeons who performed appendectomies in these hospitals during the study period.
main outcome measuresMortality; diagnostic accuracy, perforation, and repeat laparotomy rates; length of stay; and need for transfer to another acute-care institution.
resultsSpecialist surgeons performed 3624 appendectomies; GP surgeons performed 963. Rates of comorbidity, diagnostic accuracy, and transfer, and mean lengths of stay were similar for patients of GP and specialist surgeons. Patients operated on by specialists were older and more likely to have perforations and to require second intra-abdominal or pelvic procedures. Triage to a specialist, older age, and comorbidity all independently predicted perforation. Only perforation predicted a second intra-abdominal or pelvic procedure.
conclusionAppendectomy is a safe procedure in rural hospitals, whether performed by specialist or GP surgeons. Some difficult cases are routinely referred to specialists.
Indexed as
Identifiers
12675546PMC2214197W1927653545What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.