Search

Background Medical management is the cornerstone of therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). In the setting of fulminant disease, hospitalized patients may undergo medical rescue therapy (MRT) or urgent surgery. We hypothesized that delayed attempts at MRT result in increased morbidity and mortality following urgent surgery for UC. Objective The aim is to assess the outcomes for patients requiring urgent, inpatient surgery for UC in a prompt or delayed fashion. Design The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) general and colectomy-specific databases from 2013 to 2016 were queried. Urgent surgery was defined as nonelective, nonemergency surgery. Patients were divided into prompt and delayed groups based on time from admission to surgery of 48 hours. Baseline characteristics and 30-day outcomes were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses. Setting The ACS NSQIP database from 2013 to 2016 was evaluated. Patients Adult patients undergoing nonelective, nonemergency colectomy for UC. Main Outcome Measures 30-day morbidity and mortality. Results 921 patients underwent urgent inpatient surgery for UC. In univariate analysis, there was no significant difference between prompt and delayed surgery for wound infection, sepsis, return to operating room, or readmission. Limitations Retrospective study of a quality improvement database. Patients who underwent successful MRT did not receive surgery, so are not included in the database. Conclusions Delaying surgery to further attempt MRT does not alter short-term outcomes and may allow conversion to elective future surgery. Contrarily, medical optimization does not improve short-term outcomes.

Objectives Colorectal care bundles for surgical site infections (CRCB-SSIs) have been shown to reduce SSIs following elective colorectal surgery (CRS). There are limited data evaluating the effect of CRCB-SSI at Academic Disproportionate Share Hospitals (ADSH) with significant rates of urgent and emergent cases. Methods A CRCB-SSI was implemented in April 2016. We reviewed medical records of all patients undergoing colon resections between August 2015 and December 2017. Patients were divided into preimplementation and postimplementation groups. The primary endpoint was the SSI rate, and the secondary endpoint included types of SSI (superficial, deep, organ space). Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed. A subset analysis was performed in elective cases. Results We analyzed a total of 417 patients. Of these, 116 (28%) and 301 (72%) patients were in the preimplementation and postimplementation groups, respectively. The rate of SSI decreased from 30.1% to 15.9% in the postimplementation group ( P = .0012); however, it was not statistically significant after adjusting for baseline differences (relative risk [RR] 0.65; 95% CI 0.41-1.02). The elective subset included 219 patients. The rate of SSI in this cohort decreased from 25% to 10.5% in the postimplementation group ( P = .0012) and remained significant following multivariable analysis (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19- 0.88). There were no differences in the subtypes of SSI. Discussion While the CRCB-SSI was effective in decreasing the postoperative SSI rate for elective cases, its effect on the overall patient population was limited. CRCB-SSIs are not enough to bring SSI rates to accepted rates in high-risk patients such as those seen at ADSH.