Gender Disparities in Complications, Costs, and Mortality After Emergency Gastrointestinal Surgery in Kenya.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the impact of gender on emergency surgery within Kenya. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of gender on outcomes of postoperative complications, health care costs, and mortality.

METHODS: We evaluated an established cohort of patients undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery in rural Kenya between January 1st , 2016 and June 30th , 2019. Utilizing logistic regression, we examined the association between self-reported patient gender and the outcomes of postoperative complications and mortality. A generalized linear model was created for total hospital costs, inflation-adjusted in international dollars purchasing power parity, to examine the impact of gender. Confounding factors were controlled by Africa Surgical Outcomes Study Surgical Risk Score.

RESULTS: Among 484 patients reviewed, 149 (30.8%) were women. 165 (34.1%) patients developed complications, with women experiencing more than men (40.9% versus 31.0%; P = 0.03) and longer hospital stays (median 6 days (4-9) versus 5 (4-7); P = 0.02). After controlling for Africa Surgical Outcomes Study Surgical Risk Score, odds of developing complications for women were 1.67 (95% confidence interval: 1.09-2.55; P = 0.019) times higher than men, and the odds of death were 2.38 (95% confidence interval: 1.12-5.09; P = 0.025) times greater for women than men, despite similar failure-to-rescue rates and intensive care unit utilization. Total hospital costs were increased for women by 531 international dollars purchasing power parity (117-946; P = 0.012) when compared to men, attributed to longer lengths of stay.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that a discrepancy exists between men and women undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery in our setting. Further exploration of the underlying causes of this inequity is necessary for quality improvement for women in rural Kenya.