Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31773540›Full record

ArticleIrish journal of medical science2020

Factors influencing surgical management of acute appendicitis in a large university hospital without a dedicated emergency theatre.

Megan Power Foley, Michael MacLean, Ciaran Doyle, Timothy Nugent, Michael E Kelly, Fady Narouz, Brian Mehigan, Paul McCormick, John Larkin

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Article in Irish journal of medical science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Megan Power FoleyDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. foleymp@tcd.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7731-3182
Michael MacLeanSchool of Medicine, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Ciaran DoyleSchool of Medicine, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Timothy NugentDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Michael E KellyDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Fady NarouzDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Brian MehiganDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Paul McCormickDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
John LarkinDepartment of Colorectal & General Surgery, St. James' Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland.
St. James's Hospital · IETrinity College Dublin · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency. Its management reflects the efficacy of acute care surgery. Limited theatre space is an escalating issue, especially without dedicated emergency theatre access. Pre-operative delays are associated with longer length of stay, higher costs and post-operative complications.

aimsCalculate time to theatre (TTT) from admission to appendicectomy and investigate factors impacting TTT.

methodsA retrospective review of all emergency appendicectomies from June 2017 to October 2018. Demographic, clinico-pathological and radiological data were extracted from electronic patient record.

resultsOne hundred forty-eight patients underwent emergency appendicectomy during the study period. Fifty-six percent (n = 84) were male, and the median (range) age was 30.5 (17-76) years. Sixty-one percent had pre-operative imaging. The median (range) TTT was 18.37 (2-114) h; 7.5% (n = 11) waited > 48 h, 29.7% (n = 44) were operated on after 8 p.m. and 26% (n = 38) were done on elective lists. Male gender, admission CRP > 100 and admission before 12 p.m. significantly shortened TTT (p = 0.030, p = 0.004 and p = 0.001, respectively). However, pre-operative ultrasound, previous acute appendicitis and surgery on an elective list significantly prolonged TTT (p = 0.015 and p = 0.024, respectively). The median (range) LOS was 3 (1-24) nights. Ten percent (n = 15) had post-operative complications; however, longer TTT was not associated with higher complication rates (p = 0.196).

conclusionsThis review highlights the impact of limited theatre access for on-call emergency admissions, with a significant portion of appendicectomies being done on elective lists or out-of-hours.

Indexed as

Acute DiseaseAdolescentAdultAgedAppendicitisFemaleHospitals, UniversityHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesYoung AdultAcute appendicitisEmergency surgical careSurgical managementSurgical outcomes

Identifiers

PMID31773540
OpenAlexW2989712234

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.