Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37954921›Full record

ArticleTrauma surgery & acute care open2023

Prioritizing rapid COVID-19 testing in emergency general surgery patients decreases burden of inpatient hospital admission.

Madeline B Thomas, Heather Carmichael, Madison Harrison, Danielle Abbitt, Allison Moore, Quintin W O Myers, Catherine G Velopulos

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Trauma surgery & acute care open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

7 authors.

Madeline B ThomasDepartment of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0259-241X
Heather CarmichaelDepartment of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Madison HarrisonUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Danielle AbbittDepartment of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Allison MooreUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Quintin W O MyersDepartment of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9824-4665
Catherine G VelopulosDepartment of Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.

Funding

Modifiable factors in emergent presentation of potentially elective general surgical disease for patients who are insured or insurance-eligibleR01MD015122 · NIMHD · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI VELOPULOS, CATHERINE GARRISON · 2021 to 2025
$1.6M
NIMHD NIH HHS R01 MD015122
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed delivery of emergency general surgery (EGS) and contributed to widespread bed shortages. At our institution, rapid testing is not routinely approved for EGS patients. We examined common EGS conditions (appendicitis and acute cholecystitis), hypothesizing that necessity of testing for COVID-19 significantly delayed operative intervention. Methods: We performed a prepost study to examine a 2-month timeframe, or historical control, prior to COVID-19 testing (January 1, 2020-March 1, 2020) as well as a 2-month timeframe during the COVID-19 era (January 1, 2021-March 1, 2021). We chose conditions that are frequently treated surgically as outpatient or observation status. We examined time for COVID-19 test to result, and associated time to operative intervention (operating room (OR)) and need for admission. Results: Median time to COVID-19 test results was 7.4 hours (IQR 5.8-13.1). For appendectomy, time to surgical consultation or case request did not differ between cohorts. Time to OR after case request was significantly longer (12.5 vs 1.9 hours, p<0.001) and patients more frequently required admission prior to operative intervention if receiving treatment in the COVID-19 timeframe. Similarly, for cholecystectomy there were no differences in time to surgical consultation or case request, but time to OR after case request was longer in the COVID-19 era (21.1 vs 9.0 hours, p<0.001). Conclusion: While COVID-19 positivity rates have declined, the purpose of this study was to reflect on one element of our hospital system's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our institutional experience, waiting for COVID-19 test results directly impacts time to surgery, as well as the need for admission for a historically outpatient procedure. In the future, if the healthcare system is asked to respond to another pandemic or similar situation, expediting time to OR to eliminate unnecessary time in the hospital and non-critical admissions should be paramount. Level of evidence: Level III, prognostic/epidemiological.

Indexed as

appendectomycholecystectomyCOVID-19length of stay

Identifiers

PMID37954921
PMCPMC10632905

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.