Building an emergency general surgery registry to track and benchmark outcomes
Authors:
- Patrick B MurphyPMPatrick B Murphy
- Nicole L WernerNWNicole L Werner
- Catherine McKnightCMCatherine McKnight
- Matthew D NealMNMatthew D Neal
- On behalf of the AAST EGS CommitteeOCOn behalf of the AAST EGS Committee
Open Access
- 27 July 2026
- journal article
- Published by BMJ in Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open
- Vol. 11 (3) , e002323
Abstract
Emergency general surgery (EGS) represents a significant portion of admissions to hospitals and overall surgical care delivery, yet comprehensive outcome tracking and quality improvement efforts have lagged behind elective surgery and trauma care. This article outlines the gap in data and provides three practical solutions to registry development: third-party registry software with dedicated registrars, leveraging existing National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) infrastructure through the EGS-NSQIP module, and automated data extraction from electronic medical records. Each approach offers unique advantages in addressing the dual challenges of case identification and risk-adjusted outcome measurement for both local quality improvement and national benchmarking. The aim of this white paper is to provide pragmatic, scalable data solutions for EGS leaders seeking to implement contemporary quality improvement and verification efforts.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of an Automated Software Method Versus a Delphi Process to Translate Emergency General Surgery ICD Diagnosis Codes: Lost in TranslationAnnals of Surgery Open, 2025
- The economic footprint of acute care surgery in the United States: Implications for systems developmentJournal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2019
- The Parkland grading scale for cholecystitisThe American Journal of Surgery, 2018
- Past, present, and future of Emergency General Surgery in the USAAcute Medicine & Surgery, 2018
- An Examination of American College of Surgeons NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator AccuracyJournal of the American College of Surgeons, 2017
- Defining Rates and Risk Factors for Readmissions Following Emergency General SurgeryJAMA Surgery, 2016
- The financial burden of emergency general surgeryJournal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2015
- ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM mapping of the AAST Emergency General Surgery disease severity grading systemsJournal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2015
- The excess morbidity and mortality of emergency general surgeryJournal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2015
- Creation and Implementation of an Emergency General Surgery Registry Modeled after the National Trauma Data BankJournal of the American College of Surgeons, 2012