EGS P16 Management of Acute Gallstone disease at an urban acute Trust during the pandemic

Abstract Background Acute gallstone disease is a surgical emergency. Management has evolved over the years with emphasis on early surgery to improve outcomes. However, due to resource limitations, cholecystectomy is often delayed leading to repeated admissions, interval complications and increased costs. Despite several nationwide initiatives to implement acute cholecystectomy pathways, the SWORD (Surgical Workload Outcomes Audit Data Tool) quality improvement project reports emergency Cholecystectomy rates for gallstone disease as low as 1.2% to 36.5% in NHS acute hospital trusts between 2012 and 2017. We analysed the current situation at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust serving a population of 750,000 during the pandemic. Methods Patients presenting with acute gallstone disease (acute cholecystitis, biliary colic, and gallstone pancreatitis) between September and December 2021 were retrospectively audited. We measured re-admission rates, number of emergency and elective cholecystectomies performed, post-operative complications and interval between operation and initial admission. Results 240 patients were admitted with acute gallstone disease during the audit period. 133 (55%) patients were admitted with acute cholecystitis, 77 (32%) for biliary colic and 30 (13%) with gallstone pancreatitis. 91 (35%) were re-admissions while waiting surgical management. 110 (46%) patients had a definitive management, either during or following their initial admission. At 3 months following end of audit period, 49 (44.5%) patients underwent cholecystectomy, of which only 10 (20%) were performed acutely. However, 70% of acute operations were performed during re-admissions. The average time between admission and operation was 63.57 days for new presentations, compared to 49.89 days for re-admissions. 47 of the 240 patients re-presented to hospital with symptoms before their operation during the study period: 11 (23%) with biliary colic, 29 (62%) with acute cholecystitis and 7 (15%) patients with acute gallstone pancreatitis. From the main cohort of 240, 31 (13%) patients were either not deemed fit for surgery or lost to follow-up) while 99 (41%) patients were still awaiting decision about definitive management. Conclusions Provision of emergency cholecystectomies does not comply with national guidelines. Frequent re-admissions worsen patients’ experience. Cholecystectomies took place in very few patients at index admission during pandemic. More financial and cultural resources need to be allocated nationwide to surgically face the gallstone epidemic.