Table of Contents

1. 🏥 Welcome to the ALLIGATOR Study

2. 🌐 About the ALLIGATOR Study

3. 🎯 Study Aim

4. 🌍 Why Join the ALLIGATOR Study?

5. 🖋️ Who Can Join?

   • Eligibility Criteria

   • Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

   • Your Role as a Participant

6. 📅 Key Dates and Study Timeline

7. 📊 How Will the Study Be Conducted?

   • Data Collection

   • Surveys

   • Key Performance Measures (KPMs)

8. 📍 How to Join?

   • Registration Process

   • Team Setup

   • Data Collection Steps

   • Data Submission

9. 💡 What Makes ALLIGATOR Unique?

10. 🔎 Key Highlights of the ALLIGATOR Study

11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

🖋️ Who Can Join?

The ALLIGATOR Study is open to a broad range of healthcare professionals and institutions. If you meet the criteria below, we’d love to have you on board!

Eligibility Criteria:

• Hospital Teams: Any hospital that performs appendectomies is eligible to join if they can identify and follow up on all consecutive eligible patients during their selected 14-day data collection blocks.

• Medical Professionals: Surgeons, consultant leads, residents, medical students, and healthcare workers involved in emergency surgical care are encouraged to join as part of mini-teams.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: No age restrictions. Hospitals may opt to focus on specific age groups (pediatric or adult) if needed.

• Procedure: Any patient undergoing appendectomy for suspected or confirmed appendicitis, regardless of surgical approach (open, laparoscopic, or robotic), is eligible.

• Approach: Laparoscopic, robotic, and open approaches are all eligible, including conversions from laparoscopic to open surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Other Indications: Patients undergoing appendectomy for known appendiceal neoplasms or as part of another surgical procedure (e.g., colon cancer surgery) are excluded.

• Surgical Approach: Natural orifice surgery and endoscopic treatment for appendicitis are excluded.

• Previous Surgery: Patients with a prior appendectomy (stump appendicitis) are not eligible.

Your Role as a Participant:

• Data Collection: Participate in 14-day data collection periods, capturing consecutive appendicectomy cases.

• Follow-Up: Collect patient follow-up data at 30 days post-surgery.

• Survey Participation: Complete a hospital-level survey to provide context on emergency system performance at your hospital.

Benefits of Participation

Why Join the ALLIGATOR Study?

• Professional Recognition: All contributors receive PubMed-citable authorship in final publications.

• Skill Development: Collaborate with global experts in data collection, research, and clinical audits.

• Global Impact: Your contribution will help inform national and international healthcare policies on emergency care.

• Certificate of Participation: Official certificate acknowledging your contribution to the study.

📊 How Will the Study Be Conducted?

Data Collection:

• Hospitals will collect data on all appendectomy patients during pre-selected 14-day collection periods.

• Patient data includes demographics, diagnostics, surgical approach, intraoperative details, and 30-day postoperative outcomes.

• Data entry will be securely managed using **REDCap**, a secure data management platform.

Surveys:

• Each hospital will complete a mandatory site survey on their resources, infrastructure, and protocols.

• Hospitals may also opt to complete the WHO emergency assessment tool to contribute to global health insights.

Key Performance Measures (KPMs):

• Time from symptom onset to surgical team assessment.

• Time from surgical team assessment to surgery.

• Laparoscopy rates and imaging availability.

• Postoperative length of stay and surgical site infections.

• Clavien-Dindo complication rates.

Testimonials/Quotes from Study Leads

Include testimonials from global or Egyptian study leads to build credibility.

"The ALLIGATOR study provides an incredible opportunity for hospitals/Universities in Egypt to be at the forefront of surgical research. Your participation will have a lasting impact on emergency care worldwide." — Dr. Mahmoud M. Elsayed, Egyptian Hospital Lead for ALLIGATOR Study

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)