Please read Dr. Peck’s article in the Journal of Surgical Research titled, “Decreased Emergency Cholecystectomy and Case Fatality Rate, Not Explained by Expansion of Medicaid.“
Cholecystectomy for diagnosed symptomatic gallstone disease is the most frequently performed abdominal surgery, totaling nearly 1 million cases in the United States (US) annually. It has been previously defined as one of the three most burdensome emergency general surgery procedures because of its high frequency, serious complications, and preventable morbidity and mortality rates. A study in one Midwest US state found the case fatality rate of emergency cholecystectomy was five times that of elective cholecystectomy. This higher mortality of emergency cholecystectomy is very concerning, because 50 to 70% of cholecystectomies performed during acute hospitalization in the US are done as an emergency. To read the full article.
Decreased Emergency Cholecystectomy and Case Fatality Rate, Not Explained by Expansion of Medicaid. Peck GL, Kuo YH, Hudson SV, Gracias VH, Roy JA, Strom BL. J Surg Res. 2023 Aug;288:350-361. PMID: 37060861 PMCID: PMC10192015 DOI: 1016/j.jss.2023.03.006 Epub 2023 Apr 14