Outcomes in emergency surgery following the implementation of an acute care surgery model: a retrospective observational study

Over the past 3 years, approximately 23,000 emergency surgeries were performed annually in South Korea, accounting for >1% of all surgeries nationwide. With the growing necessity for treating these emergency cases with dedication and proficiency, acute care surgery (ACS) teams were appointed at various hospitals. Regarding the implications of the ACS team, many studies showed promising results with a shorter time from the emergency department (ED) to the operating room (OR), shorter length of stay, and fewer complications. This study aimed to demonstrate the overall effect of ACS implementation at a single institution in South Korea. This was a single-center, retrospective observational study. Patients aged >18 years who visited the emergency room and received emergency surgery between July 2014 and December 2016 (pre-ACS) and between July 2017 and December 2019 (post-ACS) were included. Among 958 patients, 497 were in the pre-ACS group and 461 in the post-ACS group. After propensity score matching by age, sex, underlying disease, and Emergency Surgery Acuity Score, 405 patients remained in each group. Our analysis showed a reduction in time from ED presentation to operation (547.8 ± 401.0 minutes 476.6 ± 313.2 minutes, P = 0.005) and complication rates (24.7% 16.8%, P < 0.001) in the post-ACS group. There were no significant differences in total operation duration, length of hospital stay, and mortality between the groups. As expected, time from ED to OR and complication rates were significantly reduced in the post-ACS group. Implementing an ACS team dedicated to emergency surgery provides better clinical outcomes.