Time to source control and outcome in community-acquired intra-abdominal infections: The multicentre observational PERICOM study.

BACKGROUND: Optimal management of community-acquired intra-abdominal infections (IAI) requires timely surgical source control and adequate anti-infective treatment. OBJECTIVE: To describe the initial management of community-acquired IAI admitted to the emergency department and assess the association between the length of time to either diagnosis or therapeutic procedures and patient outcomes. DESIGN: A prospective, multicentre, observational study. SETTING: Thirteen teaching hospitals in France between April 2018 and February 2019. PATIENTS: Two hundred and five patients aged at least 18 years diagnosed with community-acquired IAI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was hospital length of stay. The secondary outcome was hospital mortality. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 56 (± 21) years and a median [interquartile] SAPS II of 26 [17 to 34]. Among the study cohort, 18% were postoperatively transferred to intensive care unit and 7% had died by day 28. Median [IQR] time to imaging, antibiotic therapy and surgery were 4 [2 to 6], 7.5 [4 to 12.5] and 9 [5.5 to 17] hours, respectively. The length of time to surgical source control [0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98 to 0.99], SOFA greater than 2 [0.36 (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.651)], age greater than 60 years [0.65 (95% CI, 0.45 to 0.94)], generalized peritonitis [0.7 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.89)] and laparotomy surgery [0.657 (95% CI, 0.42 to 0.78)] were associated with longer hospital length of stay. The duration of time to surgical source control [1.02 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.04)], generalized peritonitis [2.41 (95% CI, 1.27 to 4.61)], and SOFA score greater than 2 [6.14 (95% CI, 1.40 to 26.88)] were identified as independent risk factors for 28-day mortality. CONCLUSION: This multicentre observational study revealed that the time to surgical source control, patient severity and generalized peritonitis were identified as independent risk factors for increased hospital LOS and mortality in community-acquired IAI. Organisational strategies to reduce the time to surgical management of intra-abdominal infections should be further evaluated. STUDY REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov on 1 April 2018, NCT03544203.

European standard internal telephone number 2222 for in-hospital emergency calls: A national survey in all French military training hospitals.

Background: In 2016, three European scientific societies called for standardization to the "2222" as a European unique phone number in case of in-hospital emergencies. This study describes the management of in-hospital emergency calls in all French military training hospitals and aims to detail their original transition, for the first time in France, to the "2222". Methods: An electronic standardized questionnaire was emailed to heads of rapid response teams in the eight French military training hospitals. Results: All participants answered the questionnaire (100%). The eight French military training hospitals had a specific procedure for management of in-hospital emergencies. Six hospitals already used a unique phone number for in-hospital emergencies, but none of them were using the 2222 in March 2019. Two hospitals still used several phone numbers for in-hospital emergencies, mainly due to historical and local arrangements. Rapid response teams included at least a physician and a nurse. There was a discussion to switch to "2222" as the unique phone number for in-hospital emergencies in two hospitals. In both, the discussions involved hospital executive officers, medical teams, rapid response teams and technical teams leading to a step-by-step transition. Finally, in October 2019, these two hospitals launched the "2222" procedure for in-hospital emergencies. Conclusion: This study found a large disparity in the eight French military training hospitals, concerning in-hospital emergency protocols. Two French military training hospitals launched the "2222" procedure for the first time in France. Further efforts are still needed to continue to promote the use of the 2222 as a European unique phone number for in-hospital emergencies.