Patient perceptive focus on recovery: An exploratory study on follow-up after major emergency abdominal surgery.

Background: Optimal recovery can be defined as the adequate in-hospital length of stay with minimal postoperative complications and readmissions. The quality of recovery beyond the immediate postoperative period after major emergency abdominal surgery is yet to be fully described. We hypothesized that long-term measures of overall recovery were affected after surgery.

Respiratory function following major emergency abdominal surgery.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the timewise postoperative respiratory function measured by spirometry and peak flow during the first postoperative week after major emergency abdominal surgery. Patients were tested daily with forced expiratory volume (FEV) and peak flow (PEF) from postoperative day (POD) 1 through to POD7. FEV1, FEV6, FEV1/FEV6 ratio and PEF were analysed by unadjusted linear regression with 95% confidence interval (CI) on mean values for each postoperative day.

Validation of the preoperative score to predict postoperative mortality (POSPOM) in patients undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery.

Purpose: Patients undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery have a high mortality rate. Preoperative risk prediction tools of in-hospital mortality could assist clinical identification of patients at increased risk and thereby aid clinical decision-making and postoperative pathways. The aim of this study was to validate the preoperative score to predict mortality (POSPOM) in a population of patients undergoing major emergency abdominal surgery.

The impact of blood type on transfusion after major emergency abdominal surgery.

Background: ABO dependent variation in von Willebrand factor (vWF) and factor VIII have an impact on hemostasis. Several contradictory studies have investigated the influence of ABO blood type in surgical hemorrhage. Emergency surgery is associated with an increased risk of perioperative hemorrhage leading to inferior clinical outcomes.

The impact of timing of antibiotics on in-hospital outcomes after major emergency abdominal surgery.

Background: Patients undergoing major open emergency abdominal surgery experience high morbidity and mortality rates and often have sepsis at admission. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between antibiotic timing and in-hospital outcomes such as complications, need for reoperation, length of stay, and 30-day mortality.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2015 including patients that were triaged through the emergency department for subsequent major open abdominal surgery.

[Sparse knowledge about patient-reported outcomes after major emergency abdominal surgery].

Little is known about patient-reported outcomes after major emergency abdominal surgery. Studies on patients undergoing major elective abdominal surgery and patients in the intensive care unit report significant challenges with chronic pain, functional impairment, quality of life, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Approximately one out of three patients experience chronic pain and functional impairment after major emergency abdominal surgery.