Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38563060›Full record

Observational studyAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2025

Association of day-case rates with post COVID-19 recovery of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy activity across England.

F M Ayyaz, J Joyner, M Cheetham, Twr Briggs, W K Gray

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Observational
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.

F M AyyazGetting It Right First Time Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK.
J JoynerGetting It Right First Time Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK.
M CheethamGetting It Right First Time Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK.
Twr BriggsGetting It Right First Time Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK.
W K GrayGetting It Right First Time Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe aim of this study was to investigate the safety of day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and the association between day-case rates and, post the COVID-19 pandemic, recovery of activity to prepandemic levels for integrated care boards (ICBs) in England.

methodsThis was a retrospective observational study of the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data set. Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies for the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022 were identified. Activity levels for 2022 were compared with those for the whole of 2019 (baseline). Day-case activity was identified where the length of stay recorded in the HES was zero days.

resultsData were available for 184,252 patients across the 42 ICBs in England, of which 120,408 (65.3%) were day-case procedures. By December 2022, activity levels for the whole of England had returned to 88.2% of prepandemic levels. The South West region stood out as having recovered activity levels to the greatest extent, with activity at 97.3% of prepandemic levels during 2022. The South West also had the highest postpandemic day-case rate at 74.9% of all patients seen as a day-case during 2022; this compares with an England average of 65.3%. At an ICB level, there was a significant correlation between day-case rates and postpandemic activity levels (

conclusionsRecovery of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy activity has been better in South West England than in other regions. Increasing day-case rates may be important if ICBs in other regions are to increase activity levels up to and beyond prepandemic levels.

Indexed as

Ambulatory Surgical ProceduresCholecystectomy, LaparoscopicCOVID-19Elective Surgical ProceduresEnglandFemaleHumansLength of StayMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2COVID-19Day-case surgeryGeneral surgeryLaparoscopic cholecystectomy

Identifiers

PMID38563060
PMCPMC11658879

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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.