Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic surgical services in Singapore: Experience Paper

Sustained improved emergency laparotomy outcomes over 3 years after a transdisciplinary perioperative care pathway-A 1:1 propensity score matched study

BACKGROUND

Emergency laparotomy is associated with high morbidity and significant global health burden. This study aims to compare postoperative outcomes of patients who underwent emergency laparotomy before and after implementation of a emergency laparotomy pathway.

METHODS

This is a single-center study of all patients who presented with an acute abdomen and/or conditions requiring emergency laparotomy during pre-emergency laparotomy pathway (retrospective cohort from January 2016 to December 2018) and after the emergency laparotomy pathway (prospective cohort from January 2019 to December 2021). Patients who underwent emergency laparotomy for trauma or vascular surgery were excluded. A 1:1 propensity score matching was performed to address for confounding factors.

RESULTS

There were 888 patients (emergency laparotomy pathway, n = 428, and pre-emergency laparotomy pathway, n = 460) in the unmatched cohort. The mean age was 63.0 ± 15.4 years, and 43.8% had predicted mortality >10% using Portsmouth-Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the Enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity. The most common indication for emergency laparotomy was intestinal obstruction (30.5%). Overall incidence rates of major morbidity and 30-day mortality were 16.2% and 3.5%, respectively. There were 736 patients (n = 368 patients per arm) after propensity score matching. Demographic characteristics were comparable after propensity score matching. The emergency laparotomy pathway was associated with more patients assessed by geriatric medicine (odds ratio = 15.22; P < .001), reduced major morbidity (odds ratio = 0.63; P = .024), reduced intra-abdominal collection (odds ratio = 0.39; P = .006), and need for unplanned radiological and/or surgical intervention after index emergency laparotomy (odds ratio = 0.63; P = .024). Length of stay and 30-day mortality were comparable between the emergency laparotomy pathway and pre-emergency laparotomy pathway in both the unmatched and propensity score matched cohort.

CONCLUSION

Sustained improved postoperative outcomes were achieved 3 years postimplementation of the emergency laparotomy pathway .

Occam’s razor or Hickam’s dictum-COVID-19 is not a textbook aetiology of acute pancreatitis: A modified Naranjo Score appraisal

BACKGROUND

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a disease spectrum ranging from mild to severe disease. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, numerous reports of AP have been published, with most authors concluding a causal relationship between COVID-19 and AP. Retrospective case reports or small case series are unable to accurately determine the cause-effect relationship between COVID-19 and AP.

AIM

To establish whether COVID-19 is a cause of AP using the modified Naranjo scoring system.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, World of Science and Embase for articles reporting COVID-19 and AP from inception to August 2021. Exclusion criteria were cases of AP which were not reported to be due to COVID-19 infection, age < 18 years old, review articles and retrospective cohort studies. The original 10-item Naranjo scoring system (total score 13) was devised to approximate the likelihood of a clinical presentation to be secondary to an adverse drug reaction. We modified the original scoring system into a 8-item modified Naranjo scoring system (total score 9) to determine the cause-effect relationship between COVID-19 and AP. A cumulative score was decided for each case presented in the included articles. Interpretation of the modified Naranjo scoring system is as follows: ≤ 3: Doubtful, 4-6: Possible, ≥ 7: Probable cause.

RESULTS

The initial search resulted in 909 articles, with 740 articles after removal of duplicates. A total of 67 articles were included in the final analysis, with 76 patients which had AP reported to be due to COVID-19. The mean age was 47.8 (range 18-94) years. Majority of patients (73.3%) had ≤ 7 d between onset of COVID-19 infection and diagnosis of AP. There were only 45 (59.2%) patients who had adequate investigations to rule out common aetiologies (gallstones, choledocholithiasis, alcohol, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercalcemia and trauma) of AP. Immunoglobulin G4 testing was conducted in 9 (13.5%) patients to rule out autoimmune AP. Only 5 (6.6%) patients underwent endoscopic ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatogram to rule out occult microlithiasis, pancreatic malignancy and pancreas divisum. None of the patients had other recently diagnosed viral infections apart from COVID-19 infection, or underwent genetic testing to rule out hereditary AP. There were 32 (42.1%), 39 (51.3%) and 5 (6.6%) patients with doubtful, possible, and probable cause-effect relationship respectively between COVID-19 and AP.

CONCLUSION

Current evidence is weak to establish a strong link between COVID-19 and AP. Investigations should be performed to rule out other causes of AP before establishing COVID-19 as an aetiology.

Stress and cataract surgery: A nationwide study evaluating surgeon burnout

BACKGROUND

We aimed to evaluate the nationwide prevalence of stress induced burnout among cataract surgeons. We believe that knowledge of these factors can help formulate a solution to this underreported problem.

METHODS

A three-part nationwide cross-sectional survey was disseminated with via the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) in the United Kingdom(UK). All consultants, trainees and specialty doctors and associate specialists(SAS) were invited to participate. We evaluated burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Logistic regression modelling was completed to look at factors linked to high level burnout in certain domains.

RESULTS

A total of 406 respondents completed our survey. Prevalence of cataract surgery-related high burnout was estimated at 3.45% (Section A and/or B) and 40% within Personal Accomplishment (PA)(Section C of the MBI). Multiple factors were associated with increased burnout within PA: Increasing age: 61+ OR: 2.99 (1.02-8.78, p = 0.05), Number of cataract operations completed: >3000 OR 2.98 (1.03-8.64, p = 0.04), Lists per week: 2: OR 2.99 (1.38-6.47, p < 0.01), 2.5: OR 8.95 (2.58-31.02, p < 0.01), 3 or more: OR 2.64 (1.07-6.54, p = 0.04). Sleeping 8 h or more was found to be protective OR 0.52 (0.28-0.96, p = 0.04). 17% of respondents indicated they would be willing to give up cataract surgery if given the opportunity.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of stress induced burnout by cataract surgery appears to be present in a minority of surgeons. There appears to be a significant reduction in the feeling of personal achievement within the profession. A large proportion of this cohort appears to be willing to give up surgical responsibilities.

Surgical intervention for acute pancreatitis in the COVID-19 era

Approximately 15%-19% of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections develop gastrointestinal symptoms. Acute pancreatitis (AP) has been reported in 0.1% of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Biliary AP was most common (78.4%) before the COVID-19 pandemic; idiopathic AP is most common in patients with COVID-19 (up to 57.1%). The number of emergency department presentations decreased by 23.3% during the pandemic and many governments made national recommendations to delay nonurgent endoscopic procedures, leading to decrements of 22% in combined esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy and 20% in EGD after the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms and signs of COVID-19-related AP are fever (63%), abdominal pain (58%), respiratory symptoms (40%), nausea and vomiting (39%), and headache (4%). Approximately 5-10% of patients develop necrotizing or hemorrhagic AP, and patients who required surgical intervention had a higher mortality risk. Compared to 2019, the rates of elective surgery decreased by 41.8% in 2020; including cholecystectomy (40.1% decrease) and pancreas (111.1% decrease). Surgical volumes also decreased by 18.7% in 2020; device-assisted laparoscopic and robot-assisted procedures reduced by 45.4% and 61.9% during the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020.