Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25427335›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie2015

Increased health services use by severely obese patients undergoing emergency surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

Suzana Küpper, Constantine J Karvellas, Rachel G Khadaroo, Sandy L Widder, Acute Care and Emergency Surgery (ACES) Group

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. What influences emergency general surgeons' treatment preferences for patients requiring nutritional support? A discrete choice experiment.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Suzana KüpperThe Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.
Constantine J KarvellasThe Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine and the Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.
Rachel G KhadarooThe Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, and the Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.
Sandy L WidderThe Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, and the Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.
Acute Care and Emergency Surgery (ACES) Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of this study was to assess perioperative outcomes in obese patients undergoing emergency surgery.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed the charts of all adult (> 17 yr) patients admitted to the acute care emergency surgery service at the University of Alberta Hospital between January 2009 and December 2011 who had a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher. Patients were divided into subgroups for analysis based on "severe" (BMI 35-39.9) and "morbid" obesity (BMI ≥ 40). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality after controlling for confounding factors.

resultsData on 111 patients (55% women, median BMI 39) were included in the final analysis. Intensive care unit (ICU) support was required for 40% of patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 42% of patients, and 31% required reoperation. Overall in-hospital mortality was 17%. Morbidly obese patients had increased rates of reoperation (40% v. 23%, p = 0.05) and increased lengths of stay compared with severely obese patients (14.5 v. 6.0 d, p = 0.09). Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.08 per increment) and preoperative ICU stay (OR 12) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality after controlling for confounding, but BMI was not.

conclusionObese patients requiring emergency surgery represent a complex patient population at high risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality. Greater resources are required for their care, including ICU support, repeat surgery and prolonged ICU stay. Future studies could help identify predictors of reoperation and strategies to optimize nutrition, rehabilitation and resource allocation.

Indexed as

EmergenciesHospitalizationAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsAlbertaBody Mass IndexCohort StudiesComorbidityFemaleHospital MortalityHumansIntensive Care UnitsLength of Stay

Identifiers

PMID25427335
PMCPMC4309763

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.