Estimation of the capacity of emergency surgery in Konya: Nine-year multicenter study
Tevfik Küçükkartallar1, Murat Çakır1, Ahmet Tekin1, Mehmet Balasar2, Adil Kartal1, Hande Köksal3, Bülent Erengül4, Emin Türk5
1Department of General Surgery, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram School of Medicine, Konya, Turkey
2Department of Urology, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram School of Medicine, Konya, Turkey
3Clinic of General Surgery, Konya Numune Hospital, Konya, Turkey
4Clinic of General Surgery, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey
5Department of General Surgery, Başkent University Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: Although the number of surgical emergencies continues to increase, comprehensive data on emergency surgical admissions are scarce. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the causes, management, and outcomes of the general surgical emergencies in the city of Konya, Turkey.
Material and Methods: The relevant details of the cases admitted and considered to be general surgical emergencies in Konya over a nine-year period (January 2003–January 2012) were analyzed. All demographic data were analyzed statistically.
Results: The study group comprised 21,954 cases from 4 hospitals in Konya: 7,154 from Konya Numune Hospital, 6,654 from Konya Education and Research Hospital, 6,400 from Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty, and 1,390 from Başkent University Konya Education and Research Hospital. Their mean age was 59.6 years, and the average hospitalization time was 3.3 days. The diagnoses of the admitted patients were as follows: acute appendicitis (59.57%), bowel obstruction (11.12%), trauma (7.97%), strangulated inguinal hernia (5.46%), acute cholecystitis (4.87%), peptic ulcer perforation (4.09%), mesenteric ischemia (2.73%), necrotizing fasciitis (2.73%), gastrointestinal system bleeding (1.79%), and others (1.1%).
Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate a steady increase in surgical admissions to emergency units. Non-traumatic acute abdomen was the most common reason for general surgical emergencies. Although the number of elderly patients increased, the hospital stay and mortality rates decreased over the study period.
Keywords: Emergency, hospitalization, surgery
Authors declared that the research was conducted according to the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects”, (amended in October 2013).
Written informed consent was obtained from patients who participated in this study.
Externally peer-reviewed.
Concept - A.T.; Design - M.Ç.; Supervision - A.K.; Resources - T.K.; Materials - B.E.; Data Collection and/or Processing - E.T.; Analysis and/or Interpretation - M.B.; Literature Search - M.B.; Writing Manuscript - M.Ç.; Critical Review - M.Ç.
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.
We would like to express Dr Adnan Kaynak for his contributions and Dr. Harun Şimşek for his English review.