Preoperative care in emergency surgery

Be prepared. Sir Robert Baden-Powell Introduction Surgical emergencies in the elderly concern mainly trauma, intra-abdominal and vascular surgery. Abdominal pain constitutes 10-15% of all complaints and the unspecific nature of initial symptoms often makes accurate diagnosis difficult. Radiological imaging is often employed in aiding diagnosis and delay in performing these investigations can impact on surgical outcomes. Delays can be attributed to unstable hemodynamic conditions, delayed presentation of the illness, lack of physical signs at first presentation and inability to obtain proper history. The overall morbidity seems to be reduced when surgery is performed within the first 24-48 h…