STUDY OBJECTIVE: To analyze the reasons for postponement or cancellation of surgery in the operating room (OR), and to determine the effect on patient outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Over a 5-year period, 45,663 surgeries requiring anesthesia occurred. Surgery was postponed or cancelled in the OR for 67 patients (0.15%). Airway problems, change in medical condition, and change in surgical condition were the reasons recorded. Each patient's surgical result was audited using medical charts and telephone calls for at least 6 months. MAIN RESULTS: 33 cases (49.3%) were postponed from one day to 6 months (range, one to 165 days; median, 8 days). The scheduled surgeries for 21 (31.3%) patients were never performed; and 9 patients (13.4%) died during their hospitalization (range, one to 20 days; mean, 12.7 days). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery was postponed or cancelled in the OR mainly for changes in medical condition (70.2%); either medical risk outweighed the benefits of surgery, or alternative treatments were used. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To analyze the reasons for postponement or cancellation of surgery in the operating room (OR), and to determine the effect on patient outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Over a 5-year period, 45,663 surgeries requiring anesthesia occurred. Surgery was postponed or cancelled in the OR for 67 patients (0.15%). Airway problems, change in medical condition, and change in surgical condition were the reasons recorded. Each patient's surgical result was audited using medical charts and telephone calls for at least 6 months. MAIN RESULTS: 33 cases (49.3%) were postponed from one day to 6 months (range, one to 165 days; median, 8 days). The scheduled surgeries for 21 (31.3%) patients were never performed; and 9 patients (13.4%) died during their hospitalization (range, one to 20 days; mean, 12.7 days). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery was postponed or cancelled in the OR mainly for changes in medical condition (70.2%); either medical risk outweighed the benefits of surgery, or alternative treatments were used. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors: Rana K Latif; Edgar M VanHorne; Sunitha Kanchi Kandadai; Alexander F Bautista; Aurel Neamtu; Anupama Wadhwa; Mary B Carter; Craig H Ziegler; Mohammed Faisal Memon; Ozan Akça Journal: BMC Anesthesiol Date: 2016-01-20 Impact factor: 2.217