Variability in care in emergency surgery is well known, particularly in abdominal surgery, and reducing it is fundamental to improving outcomes. It is therefore vital to identify the factors that are key to improving mortality and reducing complications in various surgical emergencies. Under the leadership of the World Society of Emergency Surgery, over 200 leading experts in emergency surgery, critical care and surgical infections established a template to help define and optimise emergency surgery, particularly that relating to the abdomen. This book refines this initial work, crystallising it into a meaningful resource for practising surgeons and health care administrators alike, and paving the way for advances in emergency surgery around the globe. This book sets a benchmark for Emergency Surgery and is a must read for those wanting their patients to do better.

Incorporating and balancing advancing subspecialization is a significant challenge of modern surgery. The changes of surgical education and early subspecialization is a smaller spectrum of experience of graduating surgeons joining the rural workforce. Surgeons working in rural and remote hospitals, however, must be proficient in the great breadth of current surgical practice and face a number of challenges and demands that are specific to rural surgery. This textbook provides an update on the evidence and surgical techniques for the experienced rural surgeon and most importantly is a guideline for younger surgeons and surgical trainees joining the general surgical workforce in rural and remote areas around the world.

Acute Care Surgery is a comprehensive textbook covering the related fields of trauma, critical care, and emergency general surgery. The full spectrum of Acute Care Surgery is expertly addressed, with each chapter highlighting cutting-edge advances in the field and underscoring state-of-the-art management paradigms. In an effort to create the most definitive reference on Acute Care Surgery, an evidence-based approach is emphasized for all content included. Also, notable controversies are discussed in detail often accompanied by data-driven resolutions.

Advances in trauma care have accelerated over the past decade, spurred by the significant burden of injury from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2005 and 2013, the case fatality rate for United States service members injured in Afghanistan decreased by nearly 50 percent, despite an increase in the severity of injury among U.S. troops during the same period of time. But as the war in Afghanistan ends, knowledge and advances in trauma care developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) over the past decade from experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq may be lost. This would have implications for the quality of trauma care both within the DoD and in the civilian setting, where adoption of military advances in trauma care has become increasingly common and necessary to improve the response to multiple civilian casualty events. Intentional steps to codify and harvest the lessons learned within the military's trauma system are needed to ensure a ready military medical force for future combat and to prevent death from survivable injuries in both military and civilian systems. This will require partnership across military and civilian sectors and a sustained commitment from trauma system leaders at all levels to assure that the necessary knowledge and tools are not lost. A National Trauma Care System defines the components of a learning health system necessary to enable continued improvement in trauma care in both the civilian and the military sectors. This report provides recommendations to ensure that lessons learned over the past decade from the military's experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq are sustained and built upon for future combat operations and translated into the U.S. civilian system.

Essential Surgery is part of a nine volume series for Disease Control Priorities which focuses on health interventions intended to reduce morbidity and mortality. The Essential Surgery volume focuses on four key aspects including global financial responsibility, emergency procedures, essential services organization and cost analysis.

The number of natural and man-made disasters has risen dramatically over the last decade. Natural disasters, industrial accidents and terrorist attacks represent major incidents, often involving multiple casualties. In such cases, health professionals face multiple challenges because the type of medical care required differs from what is taught and provided in their everyday hospital duties. The aim of this book is to inform and prepare healthcare professionals for the challenges posed by major incidents, so that they can act effectively in medical teams sent on humanitarian missions or into conflict zones. It offers a holistic and horizontal approach covering all stages of the disaster management cycle. The book is divided into 5 sections: section 1: prehospital emergency services; section ii: hospital response; section iii: management of incidents; section iv: after the disaster; and section v: evaluation, ethical issues, education and research. Healthcare providers will find essential information on the special medical considerations in both prehospital and hospital disaster settings, medical management of disaster response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness. The book offers an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach, and was written by prominent researchers and experienced practitioners.

Children represent a special challenge for emergency care providers, because they have unique medical needs in comparison to adults. For decades, policy makers and providers have recognized the special needs of children, but the system has been slow to develop an adequate response to their needs. This is in part due to inadequacies within the broader emergency care system. Emergency Care for Children examines the challenges associated with the provision of emergency services to children and families and evaluates progress since the publication of the Institute of Medicine report Emergency Medical Services for Children (1993), the first comprehensive look at pediatric emergency care in the United States. This new book offers an analysis of: • The role of pediatric emergency services as an integrated component of the overall health system. • System-wide pediatric emergency care planning, preparedness, coordination, and funding. • Pediatric training in professional education. • Research in pediatric emergency care. Emergency Care for Children is one of three books in the Future of Emergency Care series. This book will be of particular interest to emergency health care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the pediatric deficiencies within their emergency care systems.

The field of emergency general surgery encompasses a wide array of surgical diseases, ranging from the simple to the complex. These diseases may include inflammatory, infectious, and hemorrhagic processes spanning the entire gastrointestinal tract. Complications of abdominal wall hernias, compartment syndromes, skin and soft tissue infections, and surgical diseases are significantly complex in special populations, including elderly, obese, pregnant, immunocompromised, and cirrhotic patients. This book covers emergency general surgery topics in a succinct, practical and understandable fashion. After reviewing the general principles in caring for the emergency general surgery patient, this text discusses current evidence and the best practices stratified by organ system, including esophageal, gastroduodenal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic, small and large bowel, anorectal, thoracic, and hernias. Chapters are written by experts in the field and present a logical, straightforward, and easy to understand approach to the emergency general surgery patient, as well as provide patient care algorithms where appropriate. Emergency General Surgery: A Practical Approach provides surgeons and surgery residents with a practical and evidence-based approach to diagnosing and managing a wide array of surgical diseases encountered on emergency general surgery call.

Today our emergency care system faces an epidemic of crowded emergency departments, patients boarding in hallways waiting to be admitted, and daily ambulance diversions. Hospital-Based Emergency Care addresses the difficulty of balancing the roles of hospital-based emergency and trauma care, not simply urgent and lifesaving care, but also safety net care for uninsured patients, public health surveillance, disaster preparation, and adjunct care in the face of increasing patient volume and limited resources. This new book considers the multiple aspects to the emergency care system in the United States by exploring its strengths, limitations, and future challenges. The wide range of issues covered includes: • The role and impact of the emergency department within the larger hospital and health care system. • Patient flow and information technology. • Workforce issues across multiple disciplines. • Patient safety and the quality and efficiency of emergency care services. • Basic, clinical, and health services research relevant to emergency care. • Special challenges of emergency care in rural settings. Hospital-Based Emergency Care is one of three books in the Future of Emergency Care series. This book will be of particular interest to emergency care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the deficiencies in emergency care systems.