Observational studyBMJ open2026
Outcomes of open abdominal surgery at a single-centre tertiary referral hospital in Tanzania: a prospective, observational, single-arm cohort study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Access, equity, and innovation in the management of the open abdomen: the lack of proper treatment and the impact in low-income populations.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the outcomes of patients undergoing open abdominal surgery at a National Referral Hospital in Tanzania.
designA prospective, observational, single-arm cohort study.
settingDar es Salaam, Tanzania.
participantsPatients who underwent open abdominal surgery between August 2022 and July 2023 were included. Patients were enrolled if they provided informed consent to participate and were ≥18 years of age. Patients were excluded if they were lost to follow-up, were admitted outside the department of surgery or were still admitted since the index surgery at the end of the study.
main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was a composite measurement of mortality that includes patients who died during the index admission and those who died up to 30 days postdischarge. Secondary outcomes included surgical complications, unplanned readmissions, economic burden and functional outcomes. Clinically relevant factors identified a priori and with a p value of ≤0.2 in the univariable model were tested in a multivariable logistic regression to identify independent risk factors for composite mortality, with backward stepwise elimination using a statistical significance set at a p value <0.05 and 95% CI not including 1.0.
resultsOf 626 patients who had an open abdominal surgery, 555 (88.7%) met the inclusion criteria, of which 120 (21.6%) died. Of the deaths, 61 (51%) occurred during the index admission, 48 (40%) outside the hospital and 11 (9%) following unplanned readmission. Among the surviving 435 (78%) patients who participated in the 30-day follow-up, those without insurance were less likely to return to work (7.3% vs 16% insured) and had higher out-of-pocket expenses ($321 vs $82 insured).
conclusionsOpen abdominal surgery carries a composite mortality rate of 22% with almost half of deaths occurring after index hospital discharge. These findings underscore the need for routine follow-up, early complication identification and management and universal health coverage to improve outcomes, and reduce financial hardships.
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