Operative Management of Emergency General Surgery Conditions Incurs Higher Long-term Costs

Research found that for emergency general surgery (EGS) conditions, operative management resulted in higher in-hospital costs compared to non-operative approaches. However, over the long term, only patients with hepatopancreaticobiliary conditions experienced cost equivalence between operative and non-operative management at 90 and 180 days. For other EGS conditions, operative management maintained higher inpatient costs that slightly narrowed with time. The study’s results underscore the importance of considering cost implications when deciding between operative and non-operative management in cases with similar clinical outcomes.