Incidence and Causes of Elective Surgery Cancellations in Songklanagarind Hospital

• Main Authors: Aree Kaeotawee, Nipen Bunmas, Wilawan Chomthong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prince of Songkla University 2014-10-01
• Series: Journal of Health Science and Medical Research (JHSMR)
• Subjects: elective cases; surgery cancellation
• Online Access: https://www.jhsmr.org/index.php/jhsmr/article/view/230

Objective: To determine the incidence and causes of elective surgery cancellations in Songklanagarind Hospital. Material and Methods: A prospective survey was conducted from September to November 2012. All patients who had their scheduled elective operations cancelled were assessed. Data was collected on the following 2 components: (1) patient demographics; (2) main reasons for cancellations, which were grouped into patient-related factors and organizational-related factors. Data are reported as a percentage of patients whose operations were cancelled. The association between cancellation status and patient demographics was assessed using univariate logistic regression. Results: 2,395 patients were scheduled for elective surgery and of these 343 (14.3%) had their operations cancelled. Cardiothoracic surgery had the highest rate of cancellations (28.7%) while the least number of cancellations occurred in ophthalmology (10.1%). The main reasons for cancellations were related to the unit’s organization (53.6%), due to the surgeon (48.4%). Patient related causes (46.4%), due to non medical reasons (32.1%). The most common cause of cancellation by the surgeon was lack of theater time (21.3%), by patients due to the patient’s nonappearance (25.1%). Cancellation was significantly associated with type of patient, health insurance, type of anesthesia and specialties (p<0.05). Conclusion: Surgery cancellations by surgeons relating to a lack of theater time was a significant problem in our setting. Appropriate solutions for better quality improvement are needed.