Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34822021›Full record

ArticleIrish journal of medical science2022

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on provision and outcomes of emergency abdominal surgery in Irish public hospitals.

Joel Rajesh, Gintare Valentelyte, Deborah A McNamara, Jan Sorensen

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Irish journal of medical science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 40% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. 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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Joel RajeshNational Clinical Programme in Surgery (NCPS), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), 2 Proud's Lane, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6854-642X
Gintare ValentelyteHealthcare Outcomes Research Centre (HORC), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Beaux Lane House, Mercer Street Lower, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9188-3854
Deborah A McNamaraNational Clinical Programme in Surgery (NCPS), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), 2 Proud's Lane, Dublin, Ireland. deborahmcnamara@rcsi.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3975-0485
Jan SorensenHealthcare Outcomes Research Centre (HORC), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Beaux Lane House, Mercer Street Lower, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0857-9267
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused severe disruption to scheduled surgery in Ireland but its impact on emergency abdominal surgery (EAS) is unknown.

aimsThe primary objective was to identify changes in volume, length of stay (LOS), and survival outcomes following EAS during the pandemic. A secondary objective was to evaluate differences in EAS patient flow including admission source, ITU utilisation, discharge destination, and readmission rates.

methodsUsing a national administrative dataset, demographic, comorbidity, and patient flow data on 5611 patients admitted for EAS between 2018 and 2020 were extracted. Pre-pandemic and pandemic timeframes were compared using graphic and regression analyses, and bivariate logistic regression, adjusting for demographics and case-mix.

resultsThere was a 19.9% decrease in EAS during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with no difference in comorbidity, nor in the commonest procedures. Most patients (92.4%) were admitted from home. In-hospital post-operative mortality was unchanged (7.6%). Patients over 80 comprised 16.3% of EAS pre-COVID, but 17.9% during COVID. Average total LOS reduced significantly by 4.9 days and 3.5 days during COVID-19 waves 1 (29 Feb 2020-30 June 2020) and 2 (1 July 2020-30 Nov 2020), respectively. During wave 1, pre-operative LOS reduced (1 day) and ICU LOS was significantly shorter (0.8 days), but similar change was not observed during wave 2.

conclusionsSignificant improvements in patient flow following admission for EAS during the pandemic were observed. These changes were not associated with greater mortality nor increased readmission rates and offer important insights into optimal delivery of EAS services.

Indexed as

COVID-19Hospitals, PublicHumansLength of StayPandemicsRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2COVID-19Emergency surgical procedureHospital admissionLength of stayOperativeSurgical procedures

Identifiers

PMID34822021
PMCPMC8613337
OpenAlexW3216990279

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.