Defining the Denominator
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Defining the Denominator. Emergency Laparotomy and Frailty Study 2.
IRAS ID
268511
Contact name
Susan Moug
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS GGC Research and Development
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 2 days
Research summary
Patients can develop conditions that require treatment by an emergency operation called a laparotomy. The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) was set up and this has improved the outcomes from surgical units performing emergency laparotomies. NELA has improved the care of patients before and after their laparotomy, and thus improved UK wide outcomes. When patients become older and have more medical conditions, they can become frail. Frailty is not just a measure of age, but of a person’s general health and independence and is a range. Being frail makes it more difficult to recover from an illness and operations. A previous research study (ELF), undertaken by researchers involved in this study, found that those patients with a higher frailty score had more problems recovering from an emergency laparotomy, stayed in hospital longer and had decreased rate of going home after the operation. However, there is a group of patients that very little is known about, the older patient that requires a laparotomy as treatment for their emergency condition but do not have the emergency laparotomy (NOLAP). There is little information and research into the total number who not undergo laparotomy, and reasons for not having a laparotomy, frailty and outcomes for these patients. A smaller study has suggested that a third of patients that do not have a laparotomy are alive and well at one month. This multi centre UK study aims to compare the data from those that do not undergo laparotomy with those that do in the older patients. The findings of this study will be used to improve the shared decision making process in this group of patients by providing relatable information to patients but to also improve the patient care and resources available to the patients.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/WM/0304
Date of REC Opinion
20 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion