Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020

To assess the rationale of cancellation of surgical patients for elective surgery and length of hospital stay at Jimma University Medical Centre, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Vinod V Bagilkar¹, Dheeraj Lamba^2♦, Markos Mehertab³

¹Lecturer in Pediatric Nursing, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
²Associate Professor, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
³Medical Intern, Jimma University Medical Centre, Jimma, Ethiopia

^♦Corresponding author
Associate Professor, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Institute of Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Email: dheeraj.lamba@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: Cancellation of elective surgical operations was recognized as a major cause of emotional trauma to patients as well as their families. It is a significant problem in many hospitals and it may lead to dissatisfaction of patients, increased costs and prolonged patient stay in hospital. It also reflects inefficiency in the management of the operating theater. Objective: To analyze the frequency, causes and trend of cancellation of elective surgery operations in our environment and to identify the appropriate solutions for better patient management. Methods: A prospective which was conducted at Jimma university medical centre from April to June; 2019. Data was gathered, analyzed and interpreted using SPSS version 20.0 software. Result: During the period under study, a total of 454 patients were scheduled to undergo elective surgical procedures, off these, 362 patients were operated on while the remaining 92 patients’ procedures were cancelled on the day of surgery for various reasons. Conclusion: The incidence of cancellation of elective surgical procedures on the scheduled day of surgery is still high in our hospital. Most of the causes of the cancellations are potentially preventable and the vast majority of them are hospital related. Insufficient theater time and unavailability of blood were the most frequent reasons for cancellation of these elective surgical procedures.

Keywords: Elective surgery, Jimma University Medical Centre, Cancellation & Operation Theater

Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4813-4820

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