REASONS FOR CANCELLATION OF SURGERIES IN A NIGERIAN TERTIARY HOSPITAL

Gabriel Toye Olajide; Shuaib Kayode Aremu; Timothy Adewale Olajide; Waheed Atilade Adegbiji; Mohammed Mustapha Raji; Ahmad Ali

Volume : VII, Issue : II, February - 2018

REASONS FOR CANCELLATION OF SURGERIES IN A NIGERIAN TERTIARY HOSPITAL

Gabriel Toye Olajide, Shuaib Kayode Aremu, Timothy Adewale Olajide, Waheed Atilade Adegbiji, Mohammed Mustapha Raji, Ahmad Ali

Abstract :

Background/Aim: High rates of cancellation of surgical procedures are common in hospital settings which may subsequently lead to economic loss to hospital besides burden given to patients, their families and medical teams. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence and causes of cancellation of surgical operations in our centre and made suggestions to reduce it to the minimum level.

Materials and Methods: It is a prospective study carried out over a period of 18 months at Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti between January, 2016 and June, 2017. All patients booked for emergency and elective surgical procedures were enrolled in the study. Data were retrieved from emergency/elective scheduled operating lists and operation theatre registers were entered into data sheet. The age, gender, diagnosis, proposed surgery and reasons for cancellation were documented. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.

Results: A total of 380 elective and planned emergency surgeries were booked during the study period. Cancellations occur in 97(25.5%) cases. There were 60 (61.9%) males and 37 (38.1%) females with a male: female ratio of 1.6:1. The highest category of cancellations was as a result of administrative related factors in 76.3% of cases and lack of essential theatre facilities was the commonest cause of cancellation.

Conclusion: From this study, lack of essential theatre facilities, which are preventable factors, are mainly responsible for cancellation of surgeries. A proper administrative structure with introduction of theatre manager, proper pre–operative assessment and preparation of patients, improvement in communication between medical teams and patients would reduce the rate of cancellation of booked surgical procedures.