Implementation of an Epidemiological and Clinical Registry of Emergency Surgery Patients in a Costa Rican Hospital

Demographic and Clinical Characterization of Patients Operated by the General Surgery Service Who Were Admitted by the Emergency Service of the Dr. Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia Hospital, 2021-2022.

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in a quaternary level university hospital of the Costa Rican public health system. The study included all patients aged 12 years and older who required emergency surgery by the hospital's emergency surgery and trauma service, admitted through the hospital's emergency service.

This research consists in a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out in a quarterly level university hospital of care of the Costa Rican public health system (high complexity). The study included all patients aged 12 years or older who required emergency surgery for the hospital's emergency surgery and trauma service, admitted to this center between 2020 and 2022. Only those patients who required emergency surgery by another surgical specialty during this period were excluded from the register. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling was performed, based on the pre-established selection criteria and determined by the number of patients treated in the shock room of the hospital, that subsequently received general emergency or trauma surgery in the period under study. Sociodemographic variables, hemodynamic status, period of hospitalization, related to the procedure performed and the underlying comorbidities, as well as the clinical outcome, were included in the study database.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The study included all patients aged 12 years and older who required emergency surgery by the hospital's emergency surgery and trauma service, admitted through the hospital's emergency service.

Exclusion Criteria:

• . Only those patients who required emergency surgery by another surgical specialty during this period were excluded from the register.