A survey of 96 acute care and colorectal surgeons found agreement on which specialty should manage 14 of 20 acute lower GI surgical conditions, with each preferring to manage the remaining conditions.
Cross-Sectional (n=96)
Yes
Acute care and colorectal surgeons in New England agree on the management allocation for the majority of acute lower GI surgical conditions, providing a basis for future consensus guidelines.
INTRODUCTION Both acute care surgeons (ACS) and colorectal surgeons (CRS) manage patients with acute lower gastrointestinal (GI) surgical conditions. No consensus guidelines exist regarding which service is best suited to manage specific conditions. We investigated surgeon views and practice patterns regarding service allocation for the management of acute lower GI conditions. METHODS An anonymous survey was emailed to all 237 ACS and CRS at teaching hospitals in New England with both departments (n = 19) in April 2024. Respondents rated 20 conditions on which service should manage each condition and which service usually manages the condition at their institution. Surgeons also assessed factors influencing service allocation. For each condition, the average of each service's responses was calculated and compared between the two specialties. Open-ended responses regarding barriers to creating consensus guidelines were evaluated using qualitative thematic analysis. RESULTS The response rate was 41% (n = 96), with 38% ACS (n = 55) and 45% CRS (n = 41). ACS and CRS agreed about who should manage 14 of the 20 surgical conditions. In cases of disagreement, each service preferred to manage the condition, rather than the other service. Although ACS rated CRS availability to be an important factor for decision-making, CRS felt that time of day and day of week were less important. CONCLUSIONS ACS and CRS in New England agreed on which specialty should manage several acute lower GI surgical conditions and some factors impacting these decisions. These data may be used to develop consensus guidelines to streamline care allocation and potentially limit delays in care.
Myers et al. (Sun,) conducted a cross-sectional in Acute lower gastrointestinal surgical conditions (n=96). Survey on service allocation was evaluated on Agreement on which service should manage 20 acute lower GI surgical conditions. A survey of 96 acute care and colorectal surgeons found agreement on which specialty should manage 14 of 20 acute lower GI surgical conditions, with each preferring to manage the remaining conditions.