Quality issues in emergency colorectal surgery

Emergency colorectal surgery is significantly different from elective surgery in terms of the conditions under which it is performed, as well as the patients for whom it is necessary. As a result of its suboptimal circumstances, emergency surgery incurs substantially higher morbidity and mortality, and represents an area where quality improvement efforts can achieve high impact. Given the fundamental differences between emergency and elective procedures, emergency colorectal surgery should be considered and evaluated as a distinct entity. Using the Donabedian healthcare quality framework of structure, process, and outcome, we attempt to highlight areas that have been examined in recent literature related to the quality of emergency colorectal surgery.