Objective: To evaluate the role of “pre-anesthesia consultation clinic” in reducing operating
room cancellation.
Methods: We prospectively studied cancellation rate of 1716 scheduled cases for open heart
surgery during a four months period. Of these, 866 cases were scheduled for operation before
establishment of pre-anesthesia consultation clinic (Group 1) and 850 cases scheduled for
after that (Group 2). The data collected included patient age, ASA physical status and date of
the preoperative assessment.
Results: Of 1716 patients studied, 15.93% of cases were cancelled. Cancellation rate in
Group 1 was 16.8% and in Group 2 it was 13.29% (p=0.046). The most common cause of
cancellation in the two groups was incomplete medical work-up (32%). The percentage of
incomplete medical work-up as an important cause of cancellation in group1 was 19.8% and
in group 2 it was 12.6%.
Conclusion: Most common cause of surgery cancellation in two groups was incomplete
medical work-up, and was higher in group1 than group 2. Therefore, pre-anesthesia
consultation would minimize cancellation rate on the day of surgery. (Rawal Med J 2009;34:
26-28).
Key words: Pre-anesthesia evaluation, cancellation rate, consultation clinic, cardiac surgery.
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