Estimation of the capacity of emergency surgery in Konya: Nine-year multicenter study

Although the number of surgical emergencies continues to increase, comprehensive data on emergency surgical admissions are scarce. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the causes, management, and outcomes of the general surgical emergencies in the city of Konya, Turkey.

The relevant details of the cases admitted and considered to be general surgical emergencies in Konya over a nine-year period (January 2003-January 2012) were analyzed. All demographic data were analyzed statistically.

The study group comprised 21954 cases from 4 hospitals in Konya: 7154 from Konya Numune Hospital, 6,654 from Konya Education and Research Hospital, 6,400 from Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty, and 1,390 from Başkent University Konya Education and Research Hospital. Their mean age was 59.6 years, and the average hospitalization time was 3.3 days. The diagnoses of the admitted patients were as follows: acute appendicitis (59.57%), bowel obstruction (11.12%), trauma (7.97%), strangulated inguinal hernia (5.46%), acute cholecystitis (4.87%), peptic ulcer perforation (4.09%), mesenteric ischemia (2.73%), necrotizing fasciitis (2.73%), gastrointestinal system bleeding (1.79%), and others (1.1%).

The findings of the study indicate a steady increase in surgical admissions to emergency units. Non-traumatic acute abdomen was the most common reason for general surgical emergencies. Although the number of elderly patients increased, the hospital stay and mortality rates decreased over the study period.