Postoperative Complications in Emergency Surgeries at a Referral Hospital in Eastern Venezuela

Abstract

Background Postoperative complications (POC) are undesirable consequences of surgery and are a major area of concern adversely affecting the quality of surgical care and patient safety. Emergency surgery has been observed to have a higher incidence of different POC. The analysis of POC is of great importance due to their impact on the quality of life of patients and because they have become an indicator to measure the quality of hospital services. Objective This study aimed to describe the POC of emergency surgeries in patients from the general surgery department of a referral hospital in eastern Venezuela. Methodology A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted, including patients undergoing emergency surgery at "Dr. Luis Razetti" University Hospital, Barcelona, Venezuela, between November 2022 and May 2023. Results Medical records of 178 patients were analyzed. Most were male (53.7%), with an average age of 34.98 and a standard deviation of 18.2 years. POC was registered in 28 (15.7%) patients, with surgical site infection being the most common in 21 (39.62%) patients. Those over 65 years old (21.4% vs. 6.4%, p=0.013), patients with a history of hypertension (25% vs. 6.3%, p=0.002), hypoalbuminemia (100% vs. 43.8%, p=0.027), diagnosed with peritonitis due to hollow viscus perforation (21.4% vs. 6%, p=0.007), trauma (25% vs. 9.3%, p=0.018), and those with a midline incision (75% vs. 31.3%, p<0.001) had a higher frequency of POC. There was a mortality rate of 2.8% with no significant difference based on the development of POC. Conclusion POC represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing emergency surgeries. The studied sample showed a similar frequency of POC compared to previous reports but with lower mortality. Complications were associated with higher frequencies of hypertension, midline approach, hypoalbuminemia, and emergency surgery for peritonitis due to hollow viscus perforation and trauma.

Keywords: emergency surgery; postoperative complication; surgical site infection; trauma; venezuela.

Figure 1. Patient selection flowchart