Focus on acute care surgery

Excerpt

This issue of Focus on Acute Care Surgery brings to our attention different topics of interest encompassing diagnosis, management and outcome of acute abdominal conditions. Karagöz et al. [1] report on the ability of emergency physicians (EPs) to diagnose and score acute pancreatitis (AP) on computed tomography. Contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) is considered as the gold standard imaging modality in the evaluation of patients with AP, and early diagnosis and risk stratification is relevant. In this retrospective study conducted at an academic center in Turkey three third-year residents in emergency medicine were given 3 h of education on abdominal CT interpretation and modified CT severity index (MCTSI) in AP. Their diagnostic performance was calculated using radiologist’s reports as the criterion standard, by means of Kappa accordance and intraclass correlation coefficients. The study found that, whenever a radiologist report is not available, especially in nightshifts, EPs providing healthcare in EDs are able to provide this risk stratification in a reliable way after a short tutorial. …