Background Frailty, determined by the Canadian Study of Health and Aging-Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), is strongly associated with clinical outcomes including mortality in patients with COVID-19. However, the relationship between frailty and other recognised prognostic factors including age, nutritional status, obesity, sarcopenia and systemic inflammation is poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between frailty and other prognostic domains, in patients admitted with COVID-19. Methods Patients who presented to our institutions between 1st April 2020–6th July 2020 with confirmed COVID-19 were assessed for inclusion. Data collected included general demographic details, clinicopathological variables, CFS admission assessment, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), CT-BC measurements and markers of systemic inflammation. Results 106 patients met the study inclusion criteria. The majority of patients were aged ≥ 70 years (67%), male (53%) and frail (scoring > 3 on the CFS, 72%). The majority of patients were not malnourished (MUST 0, 58%), had ≥ 1 co-morbidity (87%), were sarcopenic (low SMI, 80%) and had systemic inflammation (mGPS ≥ 1, 81%, NLR > 5, 55%). On multivariate binary logistics regression analysis, age (p < 0.01), COPD (p < 0.05) and NLR (p < 0.05) remained independently associated with frailty. On univariate binary logistics regression, NLR (p < 0.05) was significantly associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusion Frailty was independently associated with age, co-morbidity, and systemic inflammation. The basis of the relationship between frailty and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 requires further study. Trial registration Registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04484545)

Aim:The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for faecal haemoglobin (f-Hb) helps determine the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and has been integrated into symptomatic referral pathways. 'Safety netting' advice includes considering referral for persistent symptoms, but no published data exists on repeated FITs. We aimed to examine the prevalence of serial FITs in primary care and CRC risk in these patients.Method: A multicentre, retrospective, observational study was conducted of patients with two or more consecutive f-Hb results within a year from three Scottish Health Boards which utilize FIT in primary care. Cancer registry data ensured identification of CRC cases.Results: Overall, 135 396 FIT results were reviewed, of which 12 359 were serial results reported within 12 months (9.1%), derived from 5761 patients. Of these, 42 (0.7%) were diagnosed with CRC. A total of 3487 (60.5%) patients had two f-Hb < 10 μg/g, 944 (16.4%) had f-Hb ≥ 10 μg/g followed by <10 μg/g, 704 (12.2%) f-Hb < 10 μg/g followed by ≥10 μg/g and 626 (10.9%) had two f-Hb ≥ 10 μg/g. The CRC rate in each group was 0.1%, 0.4%, 1.4% and 4.0%, respectively. Seven hundred and thirty four patients submitted more than two FITs within a year. The likelihood of one or more f-Hb ≥ 10 μg/g rose from 40.4% with two samples to 100% with six, while the CRC rate fell from 0.8% to 0%. Conclusion:Serial FITs within a year account for 9.1% of all results in our Boards. CRC prevalence amongst symptomatic patients with serial FIT is lower than in single-FIT cohorts. Performing two FITs within a year for patients with persistent symptoms effectively acts as a safety net, while performing more than two within this timeframe is unlikely to be beneficial.

Aims The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted emergency and elective surgical activities. Multiple surgical professional bodies initially recommended appendicitis be managed conservatively or with judicious open surgery to mitigate potential risks with Covid-19 transmission. This study compares the investigation, operative findings and outcomes of patients who underwent appendicectomy before and after the National lockdown. Methods A multicentre retrospective cohort study of patients who had emergency appendicectomy in four West of Scotland hospitals between September 2019 and November 2020. Electronic records were interrogated and patients dichotomised into two groups with those presenting before the introduction of the UK National lockdown of 23rd March 2020 compared to those presenting post-lockdown. Results A total of 559 appendicectomies were performed (280 pre-lockdown and 279 post-lockdown) in four hospitals and included in the analyses. More males than females had appendicectomy in the post-lockdown period (60.6% vs 52.1%, p 0.044). Pre-operative CT scanning was performed more often post-lockdown (71.7% vs 56.8%, p &lt; 0.001) and an open approach was adopted more frequently post-lockdown (19.0% vs 3.6%, p &lt; 0.001). The proportion of operations for complicated appendicitis increased post-lockdown (31.9% vs 22.1%, p = 0.009). Median hospital stay was equal in both groups (3 vs 3 days, p = 0.787). Post-operative complication rates were similar in both groups apart from a higher 30-day re-admission rate post-lockdown (7.9% vs 3.6%, p = 0.028). Conclusion Covid-19 has resulted in significant modifications to the pre-operative work-up and surgical approach to patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy. Whilst the proportion of patients with complicated appendicitis has increased post-lockdown, overall clinical outcomes remain similar.

Background Appendicectomy is one of the commonest emergency general surgical operations performed.  Previous studies have shown that socioeconomic status (SES) impact outcomes in a number of diseases.  Currently, there is no study analysing the impact of SES on the outcome of appendectomy.   Our aim was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of adults having an emergency appendectomy between deprived and less deprived SES groups.   Methods A multicentre retrospective observational study of all adult patients who had an emergency appendectomy across four hospitals (two district general and two tertiary care hospitals) between August 2018 and November 2020 was performed.  Patients were identified through pathology records.  Data was extracted from electronic records for demographics, pre-operative (peak) blood results, pre and post-operative imaging, operative details and the clinical outcomes.  Patient’s residential address was used to calculate Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).  The patients were grouped by SIMD into a more deprived SES group (SIMD 1-5) and a less deprived SES group (SIMD 6-10) and results compared. Results A total of 1,105 patients (57.5% male) were included.  Median age was lower in the more deprived group (35 vs 40 years, p &lt; 0.001).   The less deprived group were more likely to be fitter: ASA-1 grade 51.6% vs 43.5%, p = 0.008.  There were fewer appendectomies in most deprived decile compared to the least deprived decile (5.2 vs 11.3 per 10,000 population per year, p &lt; 0.001).   There was no difference in inflammatory markers, pre-operative imaging, surgical approach, severity of appendicitis and the median length of stay (3 days).  However, there were more surgical site infection in the more deprived group (3.4% vs 0.9%, p = 0.006). Conclusions This study demonstrates that SES does impact on the age of presentation and incidence of appendectomy.  Surgical site infection were seen more frequently in the more deprived patients undergoing emergency appendectomy.  This may be a reflection of the underlying comorbidities.

Aims Appendicectomy is one of the commonest emergency General Surgical operations performed. However, there exists minimal published literature exploring whether there are differences between males and females undergoing appendicectomy.  This study aimed to investigate the demographics, pre-operative investigation, intra-operative findings and clinical outcomes between both genders having an emergency appendicectomy. Methods A multicentre retrospective cohort study of all patients who had an emergency appendicectomy within four UK hospitals between September 2019 and November 2020. Electronic records were interrogated and patients dichotomised by gender and the results compared. Results 559 emergency appendicectomies (315 (56.4%) male and 244 (43.6%) female patients) were included.  Males undergoing appendicectomy were younger (median age: 33 vs 41 years, p &lt; 0.001).  American Society of Anaesthesiologists classification was equally matched.  Whilst no difference in mean white cell or neutrophil count was identified, C-reactive protein was lower (mean 108 vs 137, p = 0.001) and bilirubin higher (mean 21 vs 15, p &lt; 0.001) in male patients pre-operatively.  Pre-operative imaging was performed more often in females: ultrasound (16.0 vs 1.3%, p &lt; 0.001) and CT scan (69.3 vs 60.3%, p = 0.029).  Male patients underwent more open surgery (13.7 vs 8.2%, p = 0.043).  The intra-operative severity of appendicitis was equally matched.  No differences in overall hospital length of stay (median 3 vs 3 days, p = 0.183), post-operative complication rates or 30-day readmission rates were identified. Conclusions This study demonstrates that differences exist between males and females who have emergency appendicectomy in terms of age, use of pre-operative imaging and operative approach, however, clinical outcomes are similar.