Table 5.
Bivariate analysis of patient morbidity, treatment and outcomes if operated on by general surgeon versus general practitioners (N = 122)
| General surgeon | General practitioner | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Percent | n | Percent | p-value | |
| Overall diagnosis | |||||
| Soft tissue infections | 22 | 45.8 | 65 | 87.8 | <0.001 |
| Acute abdominal conditions | 16 | 33.3 | 3 | 4.1 | |
| Complicated hernia | 7 | 14.6 | 5 | 6.8 | |
| Urological emergencies | 3 | 6.3 | 1 | 1.3 | |
| Type of intervention | |||||
| Incision and drainage | 14 | 29.2 | 54 | 73 | <0.001 |
| Laparotomy | 17 | 35.4 | 3 | 4.1 | |
| Debridement | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 10.8 | |
| Hernia repair | 7 | 14.6 | 2 | 2.7 | |
| Amputation/disarticulation | 5 | 10.4 | 3 | 4.0 | |
| Suprapubic catheterization | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1.4 | |
| Skin graft | 2 | 4.2 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Others | 3 | 6.2 | 3 | 4.0 | |
| In-hospital postoperative complications (n = 110) | |||||
| Yes | 13 | 27.7 | 14 | 22.2 | 0.332 |
| No | 34 | 72.3 | 49 | 77.8 | |
| Type of in-hospital postoperative complications (n = 21) | |||||
| Surgical site infection | 4 | 44.5 | 9 | 75 | 0.222 |
| Unplanned reoperation | 3 | 33.3 | 2 | 16.7 | |
| Wound dehiscence | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 8.3 | |
| Cardiac arrest | 2 | 22.2 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Outcome | |||||
| Discharged | 43 | 89.6 | 64 | 86.5 | 0.062 |
| Recommended for transfer | 1 | 2.1 | 5 | 6.8 | |
| Died | 4 | 8.3 | 1 | 1.3 | |
| Unknown outcome | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 5.4 | |
| Length of hospital stay, days (median, IQR)(n = 103)a | 42 | 10.5(8,17) | 61 | 9(5,19) | 0.342 |
aLength of stay restricted to individuals who were discharged with or without recommendations for transfer. Patients who died or had an unknown outcome are excluded