European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Time delay to surgery for appendicitis: no difference between surgical assessment unit and emergency department.
In Denmark, emergency departments (EDs) are replacing acute surgical and medical units. The aim of this study was to compare the trajectory of patients undergoing surgery on the suspicion of appendicitis in a surgical assessment unit (SAU) and EDs with an observation unit, respectively. The primary outcome measure was the time from hospital arrival-to-decision for surgery. ⋯ The introduction of EDs with observation units did not influence time to decision for surgery, but more blood tests were performed.