Background: Care bundles, comprising a set of evidence-based practices, have been widely adopted to improve patient outcomes in various clinical settings. However, their specific impact on mortality and complication rates in emergency abdominal surgical settings remains to be thoroughly quantified. Study Aim: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of care bundles in reducing mortality and complication rates in patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgeries. Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies evaluating the impact of care bundles on emergency abdominal surgical outcomes. Studies were included if they reported on mortality or complication rates in patients undergoing emergency surgery with and without the implementation of care bundles. Data were extracted and pooled using a fixed-effects model to calculate the overall odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality and complication rates. Results: Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis revealed a significant reduction in mortality rates in the bundle group compared to the control group, with an OR of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68 to 0.85). Similarly, the complication rates were significantly reduced in the bundle group, with a pooled OR of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.68 to 0.89). The heterogeneity for mortality (I² = 33%) and complication rates (I² = 29%) was low, indicating consistent findings across the studies. Conclusion: The implementation of care bundles in emergency abdominal surgical settings is associated with a significant reduction in both mortality and complication rates. These findings support the broader adoption of care bundles to enhance patient outcomes in high-risk emergency surgeries. Future research should focus on conducting randomized controlled trials and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of care bundles in diverse healthcare settings.

Abdulaziz Alghafees