Publication Name	World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
Manuscript ID	118291
Country	Malaysia

Category	Surgery
Manuscript Type	Letter to the Editor
Article Title	Rethinking emergency care pathways for acute intestinal obstruction: From haywire to high performance
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Nabil Mohammad Azmi, Diana Melissa Dualim, Soma Balaganapati Chandrakanthan, Zairul Azwan Mohd Azman, Mohd Firdaus Mohd Hayati and Andee Dzulkarnaen Zakaria
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Andee Dzulkarnaen Zakaria, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences & Hospital USM, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. andee@usm.my
Key Words	Acute intestinal obstruction; Gastrointestinal surgery; Emergency medicine; Multidisciplinary; Multidisciplinary team
Core Tip	The time to coordination before surgery matters as much as the time to surgery itself. Early, structured multidisciplinary team (MDT) activation in acute intestinal obstruction can significantly shorten triage and treatment times, thereby reducing the risk of bowel ischemia and improving postoperative outcomes. Nursing-led team collaboration plays a central role in coordination, ensuring timely information transfer, prompt responses from key departments, and appropriate escalation of care. This thought-provoking study shows that MDT-based models are effective in promoting early collaboration, timely responses, and structured decision-making. Despite ongoing challenges, their potential to optimize outcomes in acute intestinal obstruction should not be underestimated. This editorial presents a compelling case that an MDT-based care pathway may improve efficiency, reduce emergency department backlogs, and enhance surgical outcomes even in resource-limited settings.
Citation	Mohammad Azmi N, Dualim DM, Chandrakanthan SB, Mohd Azman ZA, Mohd Hayati MF, Zakaria AD. Rethinking emergency care pathways for acute intestinal obstruction: From haywire to high performance. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; In press

Received	2025-12-29 02:54
Peer-Review Started	2025-12-29 02:54
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-01-09 07:44
Return for Revision	2026-01-09 07:44
Revised	2026-01-14 07:25
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-02-09 02:47
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-02-09 05:13
Articles in Press	2026-02-09 05:13
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	1948-9366 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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