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. 2025 Nov 18;13(22):2955.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare13222955.

Assessing the Consultation Pattern from Emergency Room Physicians to General Surgery Subspecialties: Identifying the Most Frequently Consulted Subspecialty

Ibrahim Tawfiq Al Babtain  1   2 , Wed Khalid Alwabel  2 , Bader Abdulhadi Alhoumaily  1   2 , Nawaf Abdullah Alqahtani  2 , Renad Mousa Almasari  2 , Hashim Tariq Tatwani  2
Affiliations

Assessing the Consultation Pattern from Emergency Room Physicians to General Surgery Subspecialties: Identifying the Most Frequently Consulted Subspecialty

Ibrahim Tawfiq Al Babtain et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: The acute care surgery (ACS) model employs a 24/7 multidisciplinary team-surgeons, nurses, and residents-supported by an electronic consultation system to optimize emergency The acute care surgery (ACS) model provides 24/7 multidisciplinary management of emergency surgical patients. This study aimed to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients admitted from the emergency department (ED) under general surgery, identify the most common presenting complaints and operative procedures, and determine which general surgery subspecialties were most frequently consulted at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study at KAMC, Riyadh (MNGHA), from September 2022 to November 2023. A total of 384 ED patients admitted under general surgery were included. Data were extracted from the BestCare electronic medical record and analyzed for demographics, presenting complaints, operative procedures, and subspecialty consultations. Results: Of 384 patients, 204 (53.1%) were male and 180 (46.9%) were female. The largest age group was 30-45 years (n = 112, 29.2%), followed by <30 years (n = 98, 25.5%). Leading presenting complaints were abdominal pain (n = 243, 63.3%), fever with nausea/vomiting (n = 68, 17.7%), and rectal pain/bleeding (n = 44, 11.5%). Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was the most common procedure (n = 123, 32.0%), followed by laparoscopic appendectomy (n = 57, 14.8%). ACS received most consultations (n = 231, 61.8%), with additional referrals to colorectal surgery (n = 86, 23.0%) and upper gastrointestinal surgery (n = 40, 10.7%). Nearly all consult requests originated in the ED (n = 355, 98.9%). Conclusions: Abdominal pain was the predominant ED complaint prompting surgical referral, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy were the most frequently performed procedures. ACS was the primary subspecialty consulted, underscoring its central role in emergency surgical care at KAMC.

Keywords: ED; acute care; surgical complaints procedures.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Description of patients’ chief complaints.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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