Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy
Background: Surgical futility has been defined as death within 72 h of emergency laparotomy. It is associated with patient distress, moral injury and opportunity costs. This study aimed to determine the rates of surgical futility after emergency laparotomy at a single high-volume centre, and to attr...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Surgery in Practice and Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666262025000026 |
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| author | C.L. Downey D.G. Jayne |
| author_facet | C.L. Downey D.G. Jayne |
| author_sort | C.L. Downey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Surgical futility has been defined as death within 72 h of emergency laparotomy. It is associated with patient distress, moral injury and opportunity costs. This study aimed to determine the rates of surgical futility after emergency laparotomy at a single high-volume centre, and to attribute costs to cases of surgical futility. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1st August 2021 and 1st August 2023 at a single high-volume acute hospital trust in the United Kingdom. A national patient-level costings system was used to determine the costs of hospital care from the day of surgery to the time of death. Results: In a cohort of 741 patients, there was a 3.6 % surgical futility rate. Most of these patients died within 24 h of surgery. The median total cost of admission for each patient was £14,118 (range £6,618 to £29,583). The median cost per day of admission was £6,004 (range £1,324 to £15,255). Conclusion: This is the first study to report the costs of surgical futility in the emergency laparotomy setting. Futile surgery appears to cost more and require more resource than non-futile laparotomies. Further research should focus on how to better predict surgical futility, reduce inappropriate interventions and improve patient care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-39feac8b611b4df5ad28342d5f87c137 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-2620 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Surgery in Practice and Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-39feac8b611b4df5ad28342d5f87c1372025-02-07T04:48:22ZengElsevierSurgery in Practice and Science2666-26202025-03-0120100273Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomyC.L. Downey0D.G. Jayne1Corresponding author at: Level 7, Clinical Sciences Building, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK.; Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James's, Clinical Sciences Building, St. James's University Hospital, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UKLeeds Institute of Medical Research at St James's, Clinical Sciences Building, St. James's University Hospital, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UKBackground: Surgical futility has been defined as death within 72 h of emergency laparotomy. It is associated with patient distress, moral injury and opportunity costs. This study aimed to determine the rates of surgical futility after emergency laparotomy at a single high-volume centre, and to attribute costs to cases of surgical futility. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1st August 2021 and 1st August 2023 at a single high-volume acute hospital trust in the United Kingdom. A national patient-level costings system was used to determine the costs of hospital care from the day of surgery to the time of death. Results: In a cohort of 741 patients, there was a 3.6 % surgical futility rate. Most of these patients died within 24 h of surgery. The median total cost of admission for each patient was £14,118 (range £6,618 to £29,583). The median cost per day of admission was £6,004 (range £1,324 to £15,255). Conclusion: This is the first study to report the costs of surgical futility in the emergency laparotomy setting. Futile surgery appears to cost more and require more resource than non-futile laparotomies. Further research should focus on how to better predict surgical futility, reduce inappropriate interventions and improve patient care.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666262025000026EconomicCostFutilityLaparotomySurgery |
| spellingShingle | C.L. Downey D.G. Jayne Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy Surgery in Practice and Science Economic Cost Futility Laparotomy Surgery |
| title | Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| title_full | Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| title_fullStr | Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| title_short | Costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| title_sort | costs of surgical futility in emergency laparotomy |
| topic | Economic Cost Futility Laparotomy Surgery |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666262025000026 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cldowney costsofsurgicalfutilityinemergencylaparotomy AT dgjayne costsofsurgicalfutilityinemergencylaparotomy |