Directed Teaching on Acute Abdominal Syndrome Effectively Improves Resident Physicians' Diagnostic Skills in Postoperative Complications of Gastric Tumor Surgery

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating acute abdominal syndrome (AAS) diagnosis and treatment into the standardized training of surgical resident physicians. Specifically, it examines how this curriculum impacts residents' diagnostic abilities regarding postoperative complications in gastric tumor surgeries, considering their background and the perioperative aspects of gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: A total of 449 resident physicians from the Gastrointestinal Surgery Department at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, who participated in standardized training from August 2012 to August 2024, were included in this study. The residents were divided into four groups: surgical specialties, general surgery subspecialties, gastrointestinal surgery within general surgery subspecialties, and non-surgical specialties. Chi-square tests were applied to assess medical licensure status differences between the groups. Diagnostic scores for postoperative complications in gastric tumor surgeries were compared between residents who received systematic teaching focused on AAS and those who did not using a t-test. Results: No significant differences (p>0.05) in medical licensure status were found across the groups. The stratified analysis showed that residents who received systematic teaching on AAS demonstrated significantly higher diagnostic accuracy for postoperative complications in gastric tumor surgeries (p<0.05) during exit evaluations, regardless of their medical licensure status. Conclusion: AAS is a critical and rapidly progressing condition requiring surgical intervention. Incorporating AAS-focused clinical teaching into gastrointestinal surgery training is an effective way to improve residents' diagnostic capabilities in identifying postoperative complications in gastric tumor surgeries.