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Adding timely rehabilitation surgery is an optimized perioperative measure that can reduce physical stress, reduce surgical risks, and postoperative complications and promote the recovery of organ function. Therefore, it is of great value to study its application in gastrointestinal surgery (GS). To this end, this article applies retrospective analysis and statistical methods to conduct targeted investigations and studies on GS patients. The results of the survey showed that 26.7% of patients were effective in ARS and 40% were effective in treatment. Compared with traditional treatment methods, its effective treatment rate is 13.4% higher., Competing Interests: There is no potential conflict of interest in our paper., (Copyright © 2021 Ke Liu et al.)

Objective: The study focused on the application value of iteration reconstruction algorithm-based ultrasound and spiral computed tomography (CT) examinations, and the safety of dexmedetomidine anesthesia in acute abdominal surgery., Methods: 80 cases having the acute abdomen surgery were selected as the research subjects. They were divided into group A (40 cases) and group B (40 cases) according to the anesthetic drugs used in the later period. The experimental group was injected with propofol, remifentanil, and atracurium combined with dexmedetomidine; the control group was injected with propofol, remifentanil, and atracurium only. After the operation, the patient was for observed for the pain, agitation, adverse reactions, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure. All patients received ultrasound and spiral CT examinations, and based on the characteristics of the back-projection algorithm, an accelerated algorithm was established and used to process the image, and according to which, the patient's condition and curative effects were evaluated., Results: After image reconstruction, the ultrasound and spiral CT images were clearer with less noise and more prominent lesions than before reconstruction. Before image reconstruction, the accuracy rates of ultrasound and spiral CT in diagnosing acute abdomen were 92.3% and 91.1%, respectively. After reconstruction, the corresponding numbers were 96.3% and 98.1%, respectively. After reconstruction, the accuracy of the two methods in diagnosing acute abdomen was significantly improved compared with that before reconstruction, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The Ramsay score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group at each time period, P < 0.05; the agitation score and visual analogue scale (VAS) score of the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group at each time period after waking up, P < 0.05., Conclusion: Reconstruction algorithm-based ultrasound and spiral CT images have high application value in the diagnosis of patients with acute abdomen, and dexmedetomidine has good safety in anesthesia surgery., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Pinghua Tian et al.)

Background: In the case of patients admitted with acute abdomen at the emergency department, interstitial pulmonary pathology (Covid-19 infections) represents a significant operative risk for the patients. The rate of postoperative complications is high with increased morbidity and mortality, a real challenge for the medical staff and surgical/intensive care unit teams. In emergency settings, patients were examined with targeted clinical and paraclinical parameters that assure a fast diagnosis to optimize a rapid medical and surgical treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective comparative study that included patients enrolled and diagnosed with an acute surgical abdomen in Surgical Clinic 1 Tg. Mures Emergency County Hospital. Patients were examined and analyzed at the emergency department UPU-SMURD. We included patients admitted over the two years (2019 and 2020) and divided them into two groups. Results: The total number of patients admitted in the UPU-Smurd emergency department Surgical Clinic I over the two years was 1033. There was a significant reduction in total cases diagnosed with the acute surgical abdomen in the pandemic period (p=0.033). The average time from the admission to the surgical procedure was significantly higher in the pandemic period 380Ã+-2 min in comparison with 222+-3 min (p=0.001) and also with an increased average operative time 223+-3 min versus 145+-2 min (p=0.002). Average hospitalization time was higher in the pandemic period 10+-1 (p=0.031) with no significant difference between the groups regarding Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission (p=0.122). Overall mortality has more than doubled, with 31 cases (19%) in the pandemic and 28 (9%) in the non-pandemic. (p=0.001). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has played an essential role in treating acute surgical abdomen cases. The high solicitation rate of the emergency department delayed the diagnosis and treatment of severe surgical cases. As the scale of this pandemic is unprecedented, standard protocols with minor changes do not provide adequate results., (Celsius.)

Meckel's Diverticulum is the most frequent congenital anomaly of the digestive system in the population, with a prevalence of 2% on results of a postmortem. Clinically, it can remain silent through all life, or it gets complicated in an acute abdomen sight. In emergency, we can find Meckel's Diverticulum much more in childhood than in adult subjects, with a ratio of 2:1, and, therefore, it joins differential diagnosis with other pathologies being able to cause acute abdomen sight. In adult subjects that doesn't happen: usually, we can achieve the diagnosis sureness only during an exploratory laparotomy. The Authors report the clinic case of a Meckel's Diverticulum found in a 78 years old patient during an exploratory laparotomy like accidental discovery. KEY WORDS: Complications, Laparoscopy, Meckel's disease, Diverticulum.

Primary torsion of large omentum is a rare cause of abdominal pain. The knowledge of this disease is essential for surgeons. It plays an important role in differential diagnosis of acute abdomen. The authors present two cases of primary omental torsion. They describe the diagnostic and therapeutic process. Diagnosis of omental torsion is difficult. Frequently, it presents with abdominal pain and imitates other acute abdominal diseases such as acute appendicitis in most cases. It is difficult to diagnose before surgical revision is approached. Laboratory and paraclinical examinations may not provide any clear findings. Laparoscopic revision is the method of choice, with confirmation of the diagnosis and laparoscopic resection of the ischemic part of omentum.

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a condition typified by the failure of the small bowel to propel contents in the absence of physical obstruction. CIPO is diagnosed after eliminating other causes, presenting a diagnostic challenge in emergency surgery. We report a case of a 32-year-old man with a rare mitochondrial disorder, Maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD), who presented to our hospital acutely unwell with peritonitis. Laparotomy revealed distended small bowel with no transition point, and turbid fluid with no macroscopic source. Postoperatively he had severe electrolyte and vitamin deficiencies. The diagnosis of CIPO leading to paralytic ileus and bacterial translocation was established and managed with aggressive electrolyte and vitamin replacement. He was discharged day 12 post operatively after a prolonged ileus with follow-up from a quaternary metabolic unit. We discuss here the challenges and gold standard in the emergency management of CIPO., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Immunocompromised patients are a heterogeneous and diffuse category frequently presenting to the emergency department with acute surgical diseases. Diagnosis and treatment in immunocompromised patients are often complex and must be multidisciplinary. Misdiagnosis of an acute surgical disease may be followed by increased morbidity and mortality. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of surgical disease occur; these patients may seek medical assistance late because their symptoms are often ambiguous. Also, they develop unique surgical problems that do not affect the general population. Management of this population must be multidisciplinary.This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), Surgical Infection Society Europe (SIS-E), World Surgical Infection Society (WSIS), American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), and Global Alliance for Infection in Surgery (GAIS) joined guidelines about the management of acute abdomen in immunocompromised patients., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: About 50% of the elderly undergoing emergency abdominal surgery are malnourished. The role of timely surgical nutritional access in this group of patients is unknown., Methods: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample database from 2009 through the first three-quarters of 2015 of patients aged ≥65 years who were malnourished and underwent major abdominal surgery for the acute abdomen within the first 2 days of hospital admission., Results: Of 3 246 721 patients analyzed, 4311 patients met inclusion criteria. Of these, only 507 (11.8%) patients had surgical nutritional access (gastrostomy or jejunostomy) (group I), while 3804 patients (88.2%) did not (group II). In the propensity score-matched population, there were 482 patients in each group. The patients in group I had lower odds of mortality and postoperative gastrointestinal complications (paralytic ileus, anastomotic dehiscence, and intestinal fistulae) ( P -value <.01, respectively)., Discussion: Elderly who receive surgical nutritional access have lower rates of gastrointestinal complications and mortality.

BACKGROUND Omental infarction (OI) is an infrequent cause of acute abdominal pain, and there is no consensus on whether conservative or surgical treatment should be performed. The clinical manifestations are nonspecific, so many patients are referred for surgery because of acute abdominal signs that may indicate other diseases such as cholecystitis, appendicitis, or peptic ulcer perforation. In most cases, infarction of the greater omentum is diagnosed only during emergency surgery for other diseases of the abdomen. Currently, multisequence computed tomography is performed for acute abdomen, and this disease is increasingly diagnosed preoperatively. CASE REPORT We report on 2 patients who were referred to our Emergency Department for acute abdominal pain. Both were female and middle-aged. The first patient presented with vomiting and right upper-quadrant pain with thickened and right subcostal omental infiltration on computed tomography (CT). The second patient presented with right subcostal pain and fever. CT showed signs of infiltration, thickening of the omentum, and a right upper subcostal mass measuring 22×60 mm. We performed emergency laparoscopic surgery to explore the abdominal cavity. Both patients were discharged after 3 days. CONCLUSIONS Omentum infarction is a rare disease that causes a diagnostic dilemma, as there is a wide spectrum of causes of acute abdomen. Many patients are diagnosed only during surgery. Laparoscopic surgery should be performed as soon as possible.

Background: Intestinal obstruction is defined as a blockage or partial blockage of the passage of the intestinal contents. It is a potentially risky surgical emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality. Its pattern differs from country to country and even from place to place within a country. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the magnitude, pattern and management outcome of intestinal obstruction in Arba Minch General Hospital., Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Arba Minch General hospital from January 09, 2015, to November 09, 2018. The data collection period was from December 15, 2018, to February 09, 2019. A simple random technique was applied to select 801 study participants. Then, the required data entered into Epi Info version 7.2.1.0 and exported to the statistical package for the social sciences software package version 20 for analysis. The binary logistic regression analysis has been done to determine crude statistical associations between independent variables and dependent variables. Linearity, Multivariate normality and multicollinearity were checked between independent and dependent variables by using scatter plot and Q-Q plot respectively. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.25 in the binary logistic regression analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Statistical significance factors were identified based on a p-value of < 0.05 and with a 95% confidence interval., Result: This study revealed that the overall magnitude of intestinal obstruction was 40.60% with 95% CI (34.95-45.95). The magnitude of unfavorable management outcomes and deaths during the study period were 22.3% with 95% CI (18.00-27.00) and 7.1% with 95% CI (4.00-10.00) respectively. Persistent tachycardia 10.3 (3.28-32.42), Dehydration 13.7 (3.34-56.56), elevated serum creatinine 10.2 (1.89-54.94), gangrenous small bowel volvulus 2.7 (1.27-5.84), ischemic bowel 3.4 (1.17-9.81) and perforated bowl 7.68 (2.96-19.93) were significantly associated with the management outcome of intestinal obstruction., Conclusion and Recommendation: Intestinal obstruction was the most common among all acute abdomen cases and its management outcome highly associated with dehydration. Adequate early preoperative resuscitation and proper post-operative care with appropriate surgical techniques and wound care with sterile techniques would help to reduce further mortality. This could be achieved by increasing public awareness of health-seeking behavior. Moreover, health facilities capable of handling patients with small bowel obstruction should be available within the reach of the community.

Background: Wandering spleen is a rare clinical entity with a less than 0.2% reporting incidence rate. In this case, the spleen is present abnormally in the abdominal or pelvic cavity instead of its normal anatomical location. The aetiology is either congenital or acquired. The condition is caused by the absence or maldevelopment of the spleen's suspensory ligaments, which holds the spleen static in the left hypochondrium., Case Presentation: A 27-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, and constipation for three days. A palpable movable mass was found during the physical examination, and torsion of the wandering spleen's pedicle was confirmed by CT scan. Open splenectomy was performed, and the patient was recovered uneventfully., Conclusion: Even though ectopic spleen is a rare disease, clinicians should be aware of its incidence. Early diagnosis in the case of an acute abdomen is vital for the preservation of the spleen. Patients presented with acute abdomen and absence of splenic shadow under left hemidiaphragm should be suspected, and further radiological investigation will confirm the diagnosis. Surgery is the gold standard for wandering spleen with either splenopexy or splenectomy, depending on the spleen's condition during surgery.

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: A wandering spleen is a relatively unknown condition, where the spleen may be enlarged and is located in an aberrant position in the abdomen. It is caused by abnormally constructed or absent ligaments that should keep the spleen in the correct position or an excessively long vascular stem. The pathophysiology is congenital or secondary to trauma, abdominal surgery, pregnancy or splenomegaly., Case Description: A 21-year-old woman was presented at the emergency department with acute abdominal pain in the left lower quadrant. A CT-scan of the abdomen showed splenomegaly, with the spleen showing reduced blood flow and a location in the lower abdomen. During an emergency laparoscopy, the spleen was found to be ischemic based on a torsion of the vascular pedicle. A splenectomy followed and the patient showed an uncomplicated recovery., Conclusion: Splenopexy or splenectomy is the treatment of choice for a symptomatic wandering spleen.

Background: Patients presenting with acute abdominal pain often undergo a computed tomography (CT) scan as part of their diagnostic workup. We investigated the relationship between availability, timeliness, and interpretation of CT imaging and outcomes for life-threatening intra-abdominal diseases or "acute abdomen," in older Americans., Methods: Data from a 2015 national survey of 2811 hospitals regarding emergency general surgery structures and processes (60.1% overall response, n = 1690) were linked to 2015 Medicare inpatient claims data. We identified beneficiaries aged ≥65 admitted emergently with a confirmatory acute abdomen diagnosis code and operative intervention on the same calendar date. Multivariable regression models adjusted for significant covariates determined odds of complications and mortality based on CT resources., Results: We identified 9125 patients with acute abdomen treated at 1253 hospitals, of which 78% had ≥64-slice CT scanners and 85% had 24/7 CT technicians. Overnight CT reads were provided by in-house radiologists at 14% of hospitals and by teleradiologists at 66%. Patients were predominantly 65-74 y old (43%), white (88%), females (60%), and with ≥3 comorbidities (67%) and 8.6% died. STAT radiology reads by a board-certified radiologist rarely/never available in 2 h was associated with increased odds of systemic complication and mortality (adjusted odds ratio 2.6 [1.3-5.4] and 2.3 [1.1-4.8], respectively)., Conclusions: Delays obtaining results are associated with adverse outcomes in older patients with acute abdomen. This may be due to delays in surgical consultation and time to source control while waiting for imaging results. Processes to ensure timely interpretation of CT scans in patients with abdominal pain may improve outcomes in high-risk patients., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: COVID-19 is associated with high morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgery. Contrary to elective procedures, emergency operations should not be postponed. We aim to evaluate the profile and outcomes of COVID-19 patients who underwent emergency abdominal surgery., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of perioperative data of COVID-19 patients undergoing emergency surgery from April 2020 to August 2020., Results: Eighty-two patients were evaluated due to abdominal complaints, yielding 22 emergency surgeries. The mean APACHE II and SAPS were 18.7 and 68, respectively. Six patients had a PaO 2 /FiO 2 lower than 200 and more than 50% of parenchymal compromise on chest tomography. The most common indications for emergency surgery were hernias (6; 27.2%). The median length of stay was 30 days, and only two patients required reoperation. Postoperatively, 10 (43.3%) patients needed mechanical ventilation for a mean of 6 days. The overall mortality rate was 31.8%., Conclusion: Both postoperative morbidity and mortality are high in COVID-19 patients with respiratory compromise and abdominal emergencies.

A 29-year-old nulliparous woman presented with an acute abdomen. She had a large uterus with multiple fibroids and was on the waiting list for elective surgery. An urgent CT scan demonstrated an extensive intraperitoneal fluid collection suspicious for fibroid rupture. She required an emergency laparotomy which identified a rupture of the largest degenerative fibroid. There was 2 Litres of pus in the peritoneal cavity. This case was a rare presentation of spontaneous fibroid rupture due to degeneration and necrosis, and acute abdomen from peritoneal irritation. Imaging was vital in making the diagnosis, and urgent surgical intervention was essential to reduce morbidity and mortality., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

We describe here the first laparotomy involving a COVID-19 patient in Malaysia. A 60-year-old man screened positive for SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020 and developed acute abdomen in the ward in Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah. He underwent laparotomy and cholecystectomy for gangrenous cholecystitis. All personnel adhered to infectious control precautions, donning full personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the surgery. Post-operatively, due to raised septic parameters, he was carefully diagnosed with and treated empirically for superimposed bacterial sepsis instead of cytokine release syndrome, with confirmed blood culture of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Patient was discharged well later. None of the staff involved in his care developed COVID-19 infection.

Background: En bloc right hemicolectomy plus pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is administered for locally advanced colon carcinoma that invades the duodenum and/or pancreatic head. This procedure may also be called colo-pancreaticoduodenectomy (cPD). Patients with such carcinomas may present with acute abdomen. Emergency PD often leads to high postoperative morbidity and mortality. Here, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of emergency cPD for patients with advanced colon carcinoma manifesting as acute abdomen., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 4898 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent curative colectomy during the period from 1994 to 2018. Among them, 30 had locally advanced right colon cancer and had received cPD. Among them, surgery was performed in 11 patients in emergency conditions (bowel obstruction: 6, perforation: 3, tumor bleeding: 2). Selection criteria for emergency cPD were the following: (1) age ≤ 60 years, (2) body mass index < 35 kg/m 2 , (3) no poorly controlled comorbidities, and (4) perforation time ≤ 6 h. Three patients did not meet the above criteria and received non-emergency cPD after a life-saving diverting ileostomy, followed by cPD performed 3 months later. We analyzed these patients in terms of their clinicopathological characteristics, the early and long-term postoperative outcomes, and compared findings between emergency cPD group (e-group, n = 11) and non-emergency cPD group (non-e-group, n = 19). After cPD, staged pancreaticojejunostomy was performed in all e-group patients, and on 15 of 19 patients in the non-e-group., Results: The non-e-group was older and had a higher incidence of associated comorbidities, while other clinicopathological characteristics were similar between the two groups. None of the patients in the two groups succumbed from cPD. The postoperative complication rate was 63.6% in the e-group and 42.1% in the non-e-group (p = 0.449). The 5-year overall survival rate were 15.9% in the e-group and 52.6% in the non-e-group (p = 0.192)., Conclusions: Emergency cPD is feasible in highly selected patients if performed by experienced surgeons. The early and long-term positive outcomes of emergency cPD are similar to those after non-emergency cPD in patients with acute abdominal conditions.

Background/aim: With the increase in the elderly population, the elderly proportion needing emergency surgery is also increasing. Despite medical advances in surgery and anesthesia, negative postoperative outcomes and high mortality rates are still present in elderly patients undergoing emergency surgery. Comorbidities are described as the main determining factors in poor outcomes. In this metaanalysis, it was aimed to investigate the effect of comorbidity on mortality in elderly patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery., Materials and Methods: The studies published between 2010-2019 were scanned from databases of Google Scholar, Cinahl, Pub Med, Medline and Web of Science. Quality criteria proposed by Polit and Beck were used in the evaluation of the included studies. Interrater agreement was calculated by using the Kappa statistic, effect size by using the odds ratio, and heterogeneity among studies by using the Cochran’s Q statistics. Kendall’s Tau-b coefficient and funnel plot were used to determine publication bias., Results: A total of 9 studies were included in the research. There was a total of 1330 cases in the studies. The total mortality rate was 21% (n = 279), the total rate of having a comorbid factor was 83.6% (n = 1112), and the rate of having a comorbid factor in mortality was 89.2% (n = 249). According to the fixed effects model, the total effect size of comorbid factors on causing mortality was not statistically significant with a value of 1.296 (C.I; 0.84-1.97; P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Our study revealed that comorbidity had no significant effect on causing mortality in geriatric patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. There are controversial results in the literature, and in order to reach more precise results, studies involving wider groups of patients and further studies examining the specific effect of certain comorbid conditions are needed., Competing Interests: We openly declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)

Introduction/objective: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is difficult to diagnose. Since the established parameters have low sensitivity and specificity, the aim of this study is to analyze the diagnostic quality of the established parameters of AMI., Methods: All patients that underwent emergency surgery due to suspected diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf between 2008 and 2014 were evaluated. Overall, 275 patients were enrolled and pre-, intra- and postoperative data were evaluated., Results: In 200 patients, a mesenteric ischemia was confirmed intraoperatively, and 75 patients had no ischemia. Comparing these groups, the rate of patients with pH < 7.2 (25 vs. 12%; p = 0.021) and elevated mean CRP level (175 ± 117 mg/L vs. 139 ± 104 mg/L; p = 0.019) was significantly higher in ischemic patients. There was no significant difference in the level of preoperative lactate. Concerning abdominal CT scan, a sensitivity and specificity of 61 and 68%, respectively, was found., Conclusion: New diagnostic parameters are needed. So far, explorative laparotomy is the only reliable diagnostic method to detect mesenteric infarction., (© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Dengue infections are increasing globally and account for significant morbidity and mortality. Severe dengue results in microvascular changes and coagulopathy that may make surgical intervention risky and the overall surgical management challenging. We outline the potential surgical manifestations and complications following dengue infections and describe the clinical, pathogenetic, diagnostic, and treatment aspects of dengue and surgical patients. The main surgical presentations were acute cholecystitis, acute pancreatitis, acute appendicitis, splenic rupture, bowel perforation, gastrointestinal bleeding, and hematomas. Dengue may also mimic an acute abdomen without any true surgical complications. A majority were treated nonoperatively. Misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgical intervention resulted in poor outcomes. Better knowledge of the potential surgical complications would help in early diagnosis, treatment, and referral to specialized centers and thus improve outcomes. A high degree of suspicion of dengue fever is necessary when patients in a dengue-epidemic area present with acute abdomen or bleeding manifestations. In endemic areas, early dengue antigen testing and abdominal imaging before surgical intervention may help in the diagnoses. Multidisciplinary team involvement with case-by-case decision-making is needed for optimal care.

Background: Lung cancer represents the second leading cause of death in US and the high mortality rate could be related to the diagnosis, usually, performed in an advanced metastatic stage. Gastrointestinal metastases from non-small cell lung cancer, are extremely rare and only few cases complicated by digestive haemorrhage and/or perforation have been reported in literature., Material and Methods: We report two cases of gastrointestinal metastases and their rare clinical onset with haemorrhage and perforation of the digestive tract. Both patients were admitted in an emergency setting. The first case was a 59-year-old man complained of abdominal pain and massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed an ulcerated gastric mass and an emergency CT-scans showed a right lung mass with biopsy conclusive for a large cell lung cancer. The second case was a 62-year-old man with abdominal pain and shock due to gastrointestinal bleeding. He was submitted to an emergency CT-scan showing two lung nodules (1.0 and 3.5 cm of diameter) as well as widespread metastases, intraperitoneal free air and fluids., Results: Both patients were surgical managed in emergency and pathology revealed the metastatic origin from an unknown large-cell lung cancer and a rare lung adenocarcinoma in the second one., Conclusions: Despite the rare clinical condition, in patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer managed in emergency for gastrointestinal complication, gastrointestinal metastases should be taken into account, and referred to the primary disease in order to tailor the best approach., Key Words: Gastrointestinal metastases, Lung cancer, Tailored surgery.

Objective: To describe our experience in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with acute abdomen as the main manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection., Material and Methods: A descriptive study of patients with clinical signs of acute abdomen diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted at out healthcare facility from April 1 to May 10, 2020 was carried out. Clinical records were reviewed for data collection purposes., Results: A series of 14 patients (9 male and 5 female) with a median age of 9.5 years was analyzed. All patients had abdominal pain. There were 11 patients with fever, 9 patients with vomit or diarrhea, and 9 patients with clinically suspected surgical pathology (acute appendicitis or peritonitis). Increased acute phase reactants and coagulation disorders were a common characteristic at blood tests. An abdominal ultrasonography was carried out in all patients, and a CT-scan was performed in 4 patients, which demonstrated inflammatory signs in the terminal ileum, the ileocecal valve and the ascending colon, as well as gallbladder edema. Conservative management was decided upon in all patients except one, and eight patients required intensive care admission for support treatment., Conclusions: Gastrointestinal symptoms can be the primary manifestation of the new coronavirus infection, which simulates an acute abdomen with a potentially unfavorable evolution. For an accurate diagnosis to be achieved, a good clinical record and a comprehensive physical exploration, as well as complementary tests in search of characteristic findings of COVID-19, should be carried out.

Introduction: Abdominal emergencies occur in pregnant women with the rate of 1:500635 pregnancies. Such conditions usually develop from full health and worsen rapidly. Symptoms are often similar to those in physiological pregnancy (abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation). The diagnostic process is thus difficult and both the mother and her child are at risk. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency of abdominal emergencies in the Department of Surgery, University Hospital in Pilsen and to consider their impact on pregnancy and on the newborn., Methods: We acquired a set of patients by retrograde collection of data. We searched for pregnant patients suspected of developing an abdominal emergency admitted to the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Pilsen between 2004 and 2015. We evaluated a number of clinical signs to statistically describe the set., Results: The set included 121 patients; 42 of the patients underwent a surgical procedure and 79 received conservative treatment. 38 patients underwent appendectomy; 6 appendixes were with no pathologies. McBurneys incision was an approach of choice in most cases. The most frequent symptom was pain in the right lower abdominal quadrant. The foetus has been lost in none of the cases., Conclusion: Acute appendicitis was the most frequent abdominal emergency in our set and also the most frequent reason for surgical intervention. The most specific sign was pain in the right lower abdominal quadrant. No impact of appendicitis or appendectomy on the health of the newborn has been observed. Even though abdominal emergencies in pregnancy are relatively rare, the results of the department are very good.

We present an overview of the case of a patient with early hysterorrhaphy dehiscence (uteroperitoneal fistula) with endomyometritis and post-cesarean section peritonitis and puerperal acute abdomen in a 35-year-old puerpera. A exploratory relaparotomy, necrectomy, and resuture of the dehiscent part of the hysterotomy were performed with placement of hemostatic sponges on the same portion of the uterus with good recovery., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. Public information created awareness as well as concern in the general population. There has been a reported decrease in the number of patients attending emergency departments (ED) during the pandemic. This is the first study to determine differences in the types of presenting illnesses, severity, and rate of resultant surgical intervention during the pandemic., Methods and Materials: We carried out a retrospective, observational cohort study comparing two groups of patients attending the ED at our tertiary-care academic hospital. A historical comparison cohort was obtained by reviewing the number of patients referred by the ED for abdominal CT between March 15 and April 15, 2020, compared with March 15 and April 15, 2019. CT reports were reviewed; primary pathologies, complications, and subsequent surgical intervention were documented and compared between the two groups., Results: In all, 733 patients were included in the 2019 cohort, and 422 patients were included in the 2020 cohort. In 2019, 32.7% had positive CT findings, increasing to 50.5% in 2020. The number of complications increased from 7.9% to 19.7%. The rate requiring surgical intervention increased from 26.3% to 47.6% in 2020., Conclusion: To date, there is little published data regarding the presentation and severity of illnesses during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This information has important public health implications, highlighting the need to educate patients to continue to present to hospital services during such crises, including if a purported second wave of COVID-19 arises., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 61-year-old male patient presented to our hospital's emergency department with a history of worsening abdominal pain. The symptoms began as epigastric pain and later localized to the right lower quadrant. On physical examination, there was rebound tenderness mainly in the right lower quadrant and in the right upper quadrant. The laboratory results showed leukocytosis. Abdominopelvic computed tomography scan revealed that a definite twisting on the long axis with three complete counter-clockwise turns was observed in the vascular structures of greater omentum. At operation, the greater omentum was found to be twisted and gangrenous. The infarcted omentum was ligated at the pedicle and excised. Primary torsion of the omentum is one of the uncommon causes of acute abdominal pain. Although rarely diagnosed, the entity is important to the surgeon because it mimics the common causes of the acute surgical abdomen. Omental torsion usually occurs on the right side. Abdominal pain starts suddenly after a heavy meal or hard exercise, and is not accompanied with nausea, vomiting and anorexia. Abdominal computed tomography may show peculiar features suggestive of omental torsion. Treatment consists of ligation and resection of the involved portion of the omentum and recovery is usually rapid, uneventful and complete. Primary omental torsion should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen. The surgeon must remain aware of the disease and search for it if, at laparotomy, other adequate cause is not found to explain the symptoms, especially if free sero-sanguineous fluid is found in the peritoneal cavity. KEY WORDS: Acute abdomen, Greater omentum, Omental torsion, Omental infarction, Omental necrosis.

Purpose: Patients with an acute abdomen require emergency surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection can affect multiple organ systems, including the digestive tract. Little is known about the consequences of COVID-19 infection in emergency surgical patients., Methods: Perioperative data for COVID-19 patients undergoing emergency surgery from March 1, 2020, to May 23, 2020 were collected prospectively (NCT04323644)., Results: During this period, 215 patients underwent surgery, including 127 patients in an emergency setting, of whom 13 (10.2%) had COVID-19. Two scenarios were identified: (a) patients who were admitted to a hospital for an acute surgical condition with a concomitant diagnosis of COVID-19, and (b) patients with severe COVID-19 developing acute abdominal pathologies during their hospital stay. When compared with those in group B, patients in group A globally recovered better, with a lower mortality rate (14.3% vs. 33.3%), lower ARDS rate (28.5% vs. 50.0%), less rates of preoperative invasive ventilation (14.3% vs. 50.0%) and postoperative invasive ventilation (28.5% vs. 100.0%), and a shorter duration of invasive ventilation. No causality between SARS-CoV-2 infection and gastrointestinal affliction was found., Conclusion: Our observations underline that mild co-infection with COVID-19 did not result in more complications for emergency abdominal surgery. Howe, an acute abdomen during severe COVID-19 infection was part of an unfavorable prognosis.

Background: Acute abdominal surgery has a high rate of mortality and morbidity, and intensive care is often needed in the postoperative period. In intensive care units, various scoring systems are used to determine prognosis and mortality but are not sufficient to predict mortality and prognosis. For this purpose, easily applicable, effective methods are being investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between mortality and blood parameters, such as neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV), in patients undergoing acute abdominal surgery., Methods: This study included a total of 249 patients who underwent acute abdominal surgery. The patients were divided into two groups as survivors (n=126) and non-survivors (n=123). The patient data were retrospectively analysed. The NLR, PLR, and MPV values were compared between the groups. Data including age, sex, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II-IV scores (APACHEII-IV), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores (SOFA), Glasgow Coma Scale were assessed., Results: The mortality rate was 49.4% in our study. There was no statistically significant difference in the NLR and PLR values between the groups. However, MPV was significantly higher in the non-survivors group (p<0.004)., Conclusion: Our study results showed that MPV values were significantly higher in the non-survivors following acute abdominal surgery, and NLR and PLR were not associated with mortality.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia also suffered from acute abdomen requiring surgical treatment; however, there is no consensus for the treatment of such patients. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed 34 patients with acute abdomen who underwent emergency surgery during the COVID-19 outbreak. Among the 34 patients with acute abdomen, a total of six cases were found with COVID-19 pneumonia (clinical classification for COVID-19 pneumonia: all were the common type). On the premise of similar demographics between both groups, patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had worse indicators of liver and coagulation function. Compared with acute abdomen patients without COVID-19, patients with COVID-19 pneumonia had a longer hospital stay, but there were no significant differences in postsurgical complications (P = 0.58) or clinical outcomes (P = 0.56). In addition, an obvious resolution of lung inflammation after surgery was observed in five COVID-19 patients (83.3%). No new COVID-19 cases occurred during the patients' hospital stays. Therefore, for the common type of COVID-19 pneumonia, emergency surgery could not only improve the outcomes of COVID-19 pneumonia patients with acute abdomen, but also benefit the resolution of pulmonary inflammation.

Epiploic appendagitis is a rare cause of acute abdomen. It can mimic other inflammatory processes such as diverticulitis or appendicitis. Diagnosis is based on CT scan. Medical management is the approach of choice in the absence of complications., Competing Interests: Les auteurs ne déclarent aucun conflit d’intérêts., (Copyright: Saad Slaiki et al.)

Background: The burden of emergency general surgery conditions is high in sub-Saharan Africa, and poor access to surgical care leads to poor patient outcomes. We examined the trends in mortality in patients presenting with an acute abdomen to a referral hospital., Methods: A retrospective analysis of the prospectively collected Kamuzu Central Hospital Acute Care Surgery database was performed (January 2014 to July 2019). Bivariate analysis was conducted by year of admission. A multivariate Poisson regression was performed to identify predictors of mortality., Results: During the study, 2509 patients with acute abdomen presented. The majority of patients presenting were transferred from outside hospitals (n = 2097, 83.9%). Mortality was highest in patients with preoperative diagnosis of peritonitis (n = 119, 22.2%), bowel obstruction (n = 214, 18.7%), and volvuli (n = 51, 18.6%). There was no difference in mortality by year, p = 0.1. On multivariate Poisson regression, there was an increased relative risk of mortality with being transferred (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.12-1.55, p = 0.002), as well as undergoing an operation within 1-2 days (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.16-1.87, p < 0.001) and >2 days (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.17-1.82, p = 0.001) after presentation., Conclusion: The majority of patients in our study who presented with an acute abdomen were transferred from district hospitals, which resulted in high mortality due to delays in surgical care. Therefore, the WHO's recommendation that the majority of district hospitals perform the Bellwether procedures does not occur in district hospitals in central Malawi. District hospitals require significant resource investment to reduce transfers needs and patient mortality.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Background: Residents of skilled nursing facilities (SNF) with acute abdomen present with more comorbidities and frailty than community-dwelling (CD) counterparts. Outcomes in this population are poorly described., Methods: We hypothesized that SNF patients have higher mortality and morbidity than CD patients. This retrospective review of the NSQIP database from 2011 to 2015 compared outcomes of SNF and CD patients presenting with bowel obstruction, ischemia and perforation. Primary outcomes were in-hospital and 30-day mortality and failure-to-rescue (FTR)., Results: 18,326 patients met inclusion criteria. 904 (5%) presented from SNF. In-hospital (26% vs 10%) and 30-day mortality (33% vs 26%) was higher in SNF patients (p < 0.001). The FTR rate was 34% for SNF patients and 20% for CD patients (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Presentation from SNF is an independent predictor of mortality and FTR. Presentation from SNF is a potential trigger for early, concurrent palliative care to assist surgeons, patients, and families in decision making and goal-concordant treatment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As the world population is aging rapidly, emergency abdominal surgery for acute abdomen in the elderly represents a global issue, both in developed and developing countries. Data regarding all the elderly patients who underwent emergency abdominal surgery from January 2017 to December 2017 at 36 Italian surgical departments were analyzed with the aim to appraise the contemporary reality regarding the use of emergency laparoscopy for acute abdomen in the elderly. 1993 patients were enrolled. 1369 (68.7%) patients were operated with an open technique; whereas, 624 (31.3%) underwent a laparoscopic operation. The postoperative morbidity rate was 32.6%, with a statically significant difference between the open and the laparoscopic groups (36.2% versus 22.1%, p < 0.001). The reported mortality rate was 8.8%, with a statistically significant difference between the open and the laparoscopic groups (11.2% versus 2.2%, p < 0.001). Our results demonstrated that patients in the ASA II (58.1%), ASA III (68.7%) and ASA IV (88.5%) groups were operated with the traditional open technique in most of the cases. Only a small percentage of patients underwent laparoscopy for perforated gastro-duodenal ulcer repair (18.9%), adhesiolyses with/without small bowel resection (12.2%), and large bowel resection (10.7%). Conversion to open technique was associated with a higher mortality rate (11.1% versus 2.2%, p < 0.001) and overall morbidity (38.9% versus 22.1%, p = 0.001) compared with patients who did not undergo conversion. High creatinine (p < 0.001) and glycaemia (p = 0.006) levels, low hemoglobin levels (p < 0.001), oral anticoagulation therapy (p = 0.001), acute respiratory failure (p < 0.001), presence of malignancy (p = 0.001), SIRS (p < 0.001) and open surgical approach (p < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of postoperative morbidity. Regardless of technical progress, elderly patients undergoing emergency surgery are at very high risk for in-hospital complications. A detailed analysis of complications and mortality in the present study showed that almost 9% of elderly patients died after surgery for acute abdomen, and over 32% developed complications.

Background: Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer is a rare condition that accounts for approximately 1-3% of all gastric cancer cases. Due to its rapid and invasive growth pattern, it is associated with a very poor prognosis. As a result, comprehensive genetic testing is imperative in patients who meet the current testing criteria in order to identify relatives at risk. This case report illustrates the substantial benefit of genetic testing in the family of a patient diagnosed with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer., Case Presentation: A 37-year-old patient was admitted to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. Following explorative laparoscopy, locally advanced diffuse gastric cancer was diagnosed. The indication for genetic testing of CDH1 was given due to the patient's young age. A germline mutation in CDH1 was identified in the index patient. As a result, several family members underwent genetic testing. The patient's father, brother and one aunt were identified as carriers of the familial CDH1 mutation and subsequently received gastrectomy. In both the father and the aunt, histology of the surgical specimen revealed a diffuse growing adenocarcinoma after an unremarkable preoperative gastroscopy., Conclusion: Awareness and recognition of a potential hereditary diffuse gastric cancer can provide a substantial health benefit not only for the patient but especially for affected family members.

Introduction: Several articles have been published about the reorganisation of surgical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic but few, if any, have focused on the impact that this has had on emergency and trauma surgery. Our aim was to review the most current data on COVID-19 to provide essential suggestions on how to manage the acute abdomen during the pandemic., Methods: A systematic review was conducted of the most relevant English language articles on COVID-19 and surgery published between 15 December 2019 and 30 March 2020., Findings: Access to the operating theatre is almost exclusively restricted to emergencies and oncological procedures. The use of laparoscopy in COVID-19 positive patients should be cautiously considered. The main risk lies in the presence of the virus in the pneumoperitoneum: the aerosol released in the operating theatre could contaminate both staff and the environment., Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, all efforts should be deployed in order to evaluate the feasibility of postponing surgery until the patient is no longer considered potentially infectious or at risk of perioperative complications. If surgery is deemed necessary, the emergency surgeon must minimise the risk of exposure to the virus by involving a minimal number of healthcare staff and shortening the occupation of the operating theatre. In case of a lack of security measures to enable safe laparoscopy, open surgery should be considered.

Importance: The Elder-Friendly Approaches to the Surgical Environment (EASE) initiative is a novel approach to acute surgical care for elderly patients., Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of EASE., Design, Setting, and Participants: An economic evaluation from the perspective of the health care system was conducted as part of the controlled before-and-after EASE study at 2 tertiary care centers, the University of Alberta Hospital and Foothills Medical Centre. Participants included elderly adults (aged ≥65 years) admitted for emergency abdominal surgery between 2014 and 2017. Data were analyzed from April 2018 to February 2019., Main Outcomes and Measures: Data were captured at both control and intervention sites before and after implementation of the EASE intervention. Resource use was captured over 6 months of follow-up and was converted to costs. Utility was measured with the EuroQol Five-Dimensions Three-Levels instrument at 6 weeks and 6 months of follow-up. The differences-in-differences method was used to estimate the association of the intervention with cost and quality-adjusted life-years. For a subset of participants, self-reported out-of-pocket health care costs were collected using the Resource Use Inventory at 6 months., Results: A total of 675 participants were included (mean [SD] age, 75.3 [7.9] years; 333 women [49.3%]), 289 in the intervention group and 386 in the control group. The mean (SD) cost per control participant was $36 995 ($44 169) before EASE and $35 032 ($43 611) after EASE (all costs are shown in 2018 Canadian dollars). The mean (SD) cost per intervention participant was $56 143 ($74 039) before EASE and $39 001 ($59 854) after EASE. Controlling for age, sex, and Clinical Frailty Score, the EASE intervention was associated with a mean (SE) cost reduction of 23.5% (12.5%) (P = .02). The change in quality-adjusted life-years observed associated with the intervention was not statistically significant (mean [SE], 0.00001 [0.0001] quality-adjusted life-year; P = .72). The Resource Use Inventory was collected for 331 participants. The mean (SE) odds ratio for having 0 out-of-pocket expenses because of the intervention, compared with having expenses greater than 0, was 15.77 (3.37) (P = .02). Among participants with Resource Use Inventory costs greater than 0, EASE was not associated with a change in spending (mean [SE] reduction associated with EASE, 19.1% [45.2%]; P = .57)., Conclusions and Relevance: This study suggests that the EASE intervention was associated with a reduction in costs and no change in quality-adjusted life-years. In locations that lack capacity to implement this intervention, costs to increase capacity should be weighed against the estimated costs avoided.

This is the 46th installment of a series that will highlight one case per publication issue from the bank of cases available online as part of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) educational resources. Our goal is to generate more interest in and use of our online materials. To view more cases online, please visit the ASER Core Curriculum and Recommendations for Study online at: http://www.erad.org/page/CCIP&#95;TOC.

COVID-19 is a new disease, based on currently available limited information, older adults and people of any age who have severe underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. People of all age groups are also at risk. Healthcare providers have always been the professionals most exposed to the risk of contracting to any kind of infection due to the nature of their profession. Elective interventions have been postponed to give care of patients with COVID-19. However, some interventions cannot be delayed, such as trauma surgery, acute abdomen, and emergency endoscopies. To maintain the sustainability of the healthcare system, the protection of healthcare providers should be the top priority. On the other hand, patients, who need emergency healthcare, should also be provided with appropriate treatment. Healthcare professionals should choose a treatment method appropriately in the circumstances to protect themselves and their patients as much as possible. This paper aims to summarize how a surgeon may act appropriately when an intervention is inevitable during the COVID-19 pandemic.