An 8-year retrospective review of emergency laparotomy outcomes in a Queensland rural hospital

Objective: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is a major operation performed in critically unwell patients. The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA), undertaken in the UK since 2013 has shown progressive improvement in clinical outcomes, specifically reduced mortality, and length of stay (LOS) through the implementation of perioperative key performance indicators (KPIs) (ANZ J Surg. 2021;91:2575, Br J Surg. 2015;102:57, Br J Surg. 2017;104:463, JAMA Surg. 2019;154:e190145). The objective is to generate a rural hospital EL audit (MELA) to evaluate local outcomes and clinical standards of practice with regional, national, and international benchmarks.

Methods: A review of medical records between January 2014 and December 2021 of patients who undergo an EL. Data collected include patient demographics, clinical information, compliance to KPIs and the primary outcomes of 30-day mortality and LOS.

Design: This is a descriptive quantitative study. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were similar to those defined in NELA and ANZELA-QI.

Setting and participants: The general surgeons at the rural hospital provide emergency surgery services for the North-West Queensland community.

Main outcome measures: To review local clinical outcomes of 30-day mortality, LOS, and adherence to perioperative KPIs.

Results: Overall, 84 patients met inclusion criteria. The median age (IQR) was 61 (48.8-70.3) years. The 30-day mortality was 3.6% and mean LOS was 12.8 (±13.4) days which was secondary to the low-risk patients within the data set. Compliance to KPIs (≥80%) was achieved in five of eight standards assessed.

Conclusion: Local outcomes appear to be comparable to national and international benchmarks and a similar rural setting. The audited cohort outperformed the national standard in adherence to perioperative KPIs.