Use of ambulatory pathways in emergency general surgery: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Ambulatory care is defined as the provision of medical treatment by healthcare professionals outside an inpatient hospital setting. While well-established in acute medicine, uptake of ambulatory pathways in emergency general surgery (EGS) is variable and optimal design and delivery is unclear in this context. This systematic review sought to (1) appraise current EGS ambulatory pathway literature and (2) ascertain the constituent components across the identified pathways, guiding the development of comprehensive templates for future EGS ambulatory pathways.

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cochrane Library, from 5 December 2018 to 5 December 2023 inclusive.

Eligibility criteria

All primary observational studies (ie, c

SUBMITTER: Fox B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12481336 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature