INDICATIONS AND OUTCOMES OF RE-OPERATIONS FOLLOWING EMERGENCY ABDOMINAL SURGERY IN THE BUEA AND LIMBE REGIONAL HOSPITALS: A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY divymoks2001@yahoo.com

PE061

INDICATIONS AND OUTCOMES OF RE-OPERATIONS FOLLOWING EMERGENCY ABDOMINAL SURGERY IN THE BUEA AND LIMBE REGIONAL HOSPITALS: A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

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Cameroon

Oral or Poster

The frequency of re-operations following emergency abdominal surgery varies according to the setting, patient demographic factors, primary indication for surgery and the intervention performed during initial surgery. These re-interventions represent a complex clinical scenario with significant impact on patients outcomes and resources but also on the healthcare provider. This study was aimed at identifying the indications and outcomes of reoperations following initial emergency abdominal surgeries in the Buea and Limbe Regional Hospitals of Cameroon as this remains a relevant problem in sub Saharan Africa.

This was a hospital based 10-year retrospective study of hospital records from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2023. These records were of patients who were re-operated during the same hospital admission,or within 60 days following initial emergency abdominal surgery. Data pertaining to Indications for initial surgery, re-operation, intervention done, demographics and comorbidities were obtained and analyzed using the SPSS version 25.0

Within the study period 1804 emergency abdominal surgeries were performed and out of these 171(9.5%) required re-operations of which 156 (8.6%) were reviewed. Postoperative peritonitis (37.8%), enterocutaneous fistula (17.9%), intraabdominal abscess (12.2 %) and wound dehiscence (9%) were the main indications for re-operation. Complications included sepsis (53.1%), malnutrition (21.5%) and anemia (11.5%). Mortality was 9.1%. Anastomotic leak was found to be associated with mortality with p<0.001.

Postoperative peritonitis was found to be the most common indication for re-operation in our setting with sepsis and malnutrition being the most common complications in patients after reoperations following initial emergency abdominal surgery.