Background
Same-day cancellation of vascular surgical procedures is an undesirable occurrence
with multifaceted implications into the patient's health care. Numerous factors play
a role in same-day cancellations, ranging from medical causes, patient factors, or
administrative and scheduling conflicts.
Methods
A retrospective review of the medical records database at our large tertiary academic
referral center from 2007 to 2017 was performed to identify patients scheduled for
vascular surgical procedures who experienced same-day cancellation.
Results
Of the 17,887 scheduled vascular surgical procedures during the study period, 361
(2%) patients experienced same-day cancellations. Seventy-five percent of cancellations
were determined to be nonforeseeable, 12.5% foreseeable, and 12.5% indeterminate.
The most common reasons for cancellation were medical (55%), patient-initiated cancellation
(12%), procedure no longer required (10%), and administrative or scheduling conflicts
(10%). Twenty-six (7.3%) patients died within 30 days after their cancelled vascular
operation. Most patients (69%) eventually received the planned operation, with a mean
interval of 45.5 ± 135.8 days between cancellation and performance of the aforementioned
procedure.
Conclusions
At our institution, same-day cancellations of vascular surgical procedures were infrequent
(2%). Most cancellations were due to medical reasons. Although most cancellations
were determined to be nonforeseeable, emphasizing foreseeable cancellations may provide
opportunities to improve patient care, enhance satisfaction, and reduce future cancellations.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: August 23, 2019
Accepted:
June 20,
2019
Received:
April 1,
2019
Footnotes
Author contributions: Luke J. Matzek, Bradford B. Smith, and Mark M. Smith were involved in designing the study, acquisition and analysis of data, and drafting the manuscript; William J. Mauermann was involved in designing the study and drafting the manuscript; and Thomas C. Bower was involved in drafting the manuscript.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Financial disclosure: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
