Key result
Emergency general surgery volume increased ~32% over 15 years alongside rising patient medical complexity.
Why the study?
Emergency general surgery services are under increasing pressure, prompting an examination of trends in volume, incidence, patient complexity, and system performance over 15 years.
Population
39 996 emergency general surgical procedures in adult patients (≥ 16 years) at North Shore Hospital
Comparison
Trends over time between 2010 and 2024
Design
Retrospective cohort study
Authors
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Rising volumes and complexity may strain emergency surgical systems; leaves open optimal resource planning and outcome impacts.
Cohort (n=39,996)
No
Absolute Event Rate: 469.1% vs 453.1%
Emergency general surgery workload and patient complexity have significantly increased over 15 years at a metropolitan New Zealand hospital, driven primarily by population growth and aging.
Fleischl et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Emergency general surgery (n=39,996). 15-year time period (2010-2024) vs. Baseline (2010) was evaluated on Procedure incidence rate (per 100,000 person-years). Over 15 years, emergency general surgery case volume increased by 32.3%, with the proportion of medically complex patients (ASA ≥ 3) rising from 23.4% to 34.5%.
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