Surgery cancellations after entering the operating room

Abstract

BackgroundSurgery cancellation results in unavailability of the operating room and loss time. We identified the frequency of and reasons for operation cancellations after patients entered the operating room and assessed the preventability of such cancellations.FindingsA retrospective chart review of all scheduled surgical procedures proposed under general anesthesia in a period spanning 2008 to 2016 was performed, and the reasons for cancellation were assessed.A total of 30 surgery procedures were cancelled after the patient had entered the operation room and preparation for general anesthesia had been completed. Ten of 18 cases (55.6%) that were cancelled before general anesthesia induction could have been prevented, accounting for 36.7% of the overall cancellations. The majority of the cancellations after anesthesia were due to the patients’ health status.ConclusionsImproving the systems for checking patients’ medical problems and performing preoperative evaluations can reduce the number of cancellations after the patient has entered the operating room.

Factors for Postponement or Cancellation of Operating Programs Set in the Orthopedics-Traumatology Department of Yalgado Ouédraogo University Teaching Hospital in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

“…From the point of view of socio-demographic characteristics, these are young patients with an average age of 40.1 years, which is similar to other African series and is explained by the youth of the population of the continent [4] [14] [15]. On the other hand, in developed countries, this average age is higher: 73 years for Dalton [8] in Ireland, and 61.5 years for Hori [11] in Japan. The sex ratio was 2.4 and is explained by the strong involvement of men in trauma.…”

“…Cancellations were decided on the same day of the intervention, but before any anesthesia in 69.9%. However, Coudane [7] in France and Hori [11] in Japan found high rates of cancellations after anesthesia: 56.5% and 40%. Our high rate of cancellations on the day of the operation could be explained by the lack of PAV, which means that the anesthetists only see patients on the day of the operation in the corridors of the operating room.…”

“…These causes are preventable in most cases [17] [18]. If in developed countries, postponements and cancellations are increasingly rare due to better organization of services [8] [11] [16] [19], in Africa, there are still high rates that vary between 23% and 40% [9] [18] [15]. In Burkina Faso, the phenomenon seems even more accentuated with rates reaching 46% [14].…”

Assessing the Rates and Reasons of Elective Surgical Cancellations on the Day of Surgery: A Multicentre Study from Urban Indian Hospitals

“…Our study demonstrated more cancellations in surgeries planned under GA (10.6%). Studies have documented that a structured preoperative assessment and patient optimisation led to fewer surgery cancellations in cases posted under GA [ 12 , 23 ]. Patient induction under GA is more resource-intensive and necessitates optimal patient preparation as compared to regional anaesthesia.…”

Fatores determinantes para suspensões de cirurgias eletivas em um hospital do Distrito Federal

“…Os inúmeros transtornos causados devido à suspensão de uma cirurgia podem ser analisados por duas vertentes: uma com base nas repercussões geradas para o indivíduo e seus familiares e outra avaliando as consequências causadas para a instituição de saúde e os profissionais ali atuantes 7 .…”