One Year of Experience Managing Peritonitis Secondary to Gastrointestinal Perforation at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction Peritonitis secondary to gastrointestinal perforation causes high morbidity and mortality rates in the emergency department with an immediate need for surgical intervention. Despite improved surgical management procedures, patients are still suffering from gastrointestinal leak causing peritonitis that demands surgical management by highly skilled surgeons in high-quality surgical units. Material and methods This paper presents one year of experience in the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal perforation-related peritonitis by surgeons in Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. Data was retrospectively collected from patient records and quantitatively analyzed. Involved patients developed peritonitis secondary to gastrointestinal perforation requiring surgical exploration and interventions in the emergency department between November 2020 and October 2021. Results One hundred and fifty-eight patients were involved; the mean age was 43.46 years. The number of males was 87 (55.06%). The patients mostly presented with generalized abdominal pain (57.6%). All the patients had perforation-related peritonitis, which was most prevalent in the ileum (62%). The most performed surgical intervention was loop ileostomy (36.71%). Compared to other published reports, the incidence rate of wound dehiscence in the hospital was relatively higher. Postoperatively, wound infection was low if the skin was left open (23.62%) compared to closed skin (38.7%). Patient outcomes were acceptable as the death rate was low (3.2%, 5/158). Conclusion Peritonitis caused by gastrointestinal perforation is associated with a high risk of morbidity that necessitates surgical exploration. Leaving skin wound open after the surgical intervention is recommended to decrease the incidence of wound infection and dehiscence.

The Emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance in Culture Sensitivities of Post-surgical Patients in Lahore General Hospital, Lahore.

Objective The purpose of this study is to isolate the organisms which are developing resistance and to recognize the drugs against which resistance has emerged so that antibiotic policy can be formulated for the proper and effective use of antibiotics. Setting and design An observational study was conducted for a period of six months from July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 in LGH. Methods Statistics regarding the culture and sensitivity of the organisms isolated from different sources were collected from the surgery department. 195 cultural and sensitivity reports were analyzed for identification of genus/species of bacteria and sensitivity of the organism.  Results Out of 195 culture reports, 124 showed significant growth of organisms exhibiting resistance to either single or multiple drugs. Escherichia and acinobactor was the most common organism isolated with a total of 30 each (24%, 24%), followed by pseudomonas 21 (17%), Klebsiella was 13 (10%), Proteus was 10 (8%), Methicillin-resistance Staph-aureus was seven (5%), Methicillin-sensitive Staph-aureus was five (4%), Staphylococcus epidermidis was four (3%), Providencia, Streptococci, Enterobacter species and Citrobacter species were one (1%). Maximum resistance was detected with frequently used first-line antimicrobials such as Ceftriaxone, ampicillin and Clavulanic acid. Least resistant were Azithromycin, Cefoxitin, Cefaclor among the gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Conclusion Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was more against frequently used antibiotics that are accessible for an extended duration. Variation of resistance and sensitivity pattern with time is identified. Periodic AMR monitoring and rotation of antibiotics are suggested to restrict further emergence of resistance.

Two-Year Experiences of 500 Appendectomies in Lahore General Hospital, Lahore.

Introduction Acute appendicitis is a leading cause of abdominal conditions in emergency departments. Evidence from research studies has indicated the efficacies of surgical procedures involving appendectomies. However, in Pakistan, there is a paucity of information regarding the epidemiology, clinical presentations, and surgical management of acute appendicitis. Objective This paper aims to report the epidemiologic data and findings of surgical management of acute appendicitis in Lahore General Hospital (LGH). The data was based on our two-year experiences of appendectomies in the hospital. Materials and methodology Data were collected retrospectively. The patients underwent appendectomies performed by the team of surgeons of Surgical Unit 1 of LGH in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department from July 2019 to October 2021. Results The total number of patients was 506, and the mean age was 26.8. Males (67.29%) and young adults aged 18-34 years were at higher risk of appendicitis. Compared to other surgical procedures performed, open appendectomy and laparoscopic appendectomy operative times were significantly shorter. Histopathology of all the cases showed acute inflammation of the appendix. Discussion Similar to findings from other research studies, the operative time of open appendectomies was shorter (70.6 minutes) in the hospital than the operative time of laparoscopic appendectomies (77 minutes). However, the overall operative times were longer than the operative times reported in some other research studies. Also, contrary to other research findings, open appendectomy (1.22 days) was associated with a longer length of hospital stay than laparoscopic appendectomy (≈1 day). Simple acute appendicitis was the most predominant operation findings (289, 57.1%). Conclusion Compared to other hospitals, the shorter hospital stays/recovery time indicated the high surgical skill of performing open and laparoscopic appendectomies in Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.