Study examines trends surrounding cancellation of more complicated ophthalmic inpatient surgeries

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A team of researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS) in Beijing, China is examining trends surrounding the cancellation of more complicated ophthalmic inpatient surgeries.

While ophthalmic ambulatory surgeries generally are less costly and boost the efficient utilization of hospital resources, impatient surgeries proved to be preferred alternatives for patients with complicated eye issues or who were in overall poor health.¹

“However, the incidence, causes and related factors of ophthalmic inpatient surgery cancellation remained largely unknown,” the researchers wrote.

Researchers retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records of ophthalmic inpatient surgeries from January 2012 to December 2022. Cancellation-related factors were examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis and the reason for the cancellations was examined.¹

The data included 820 canceled surgeries and 42,073 performed surgeries, with a cancellation rate of 1.9%. Any other ocular comorbidities were risk factors for cancellation, according to researchers, while age, local residence, systemic comorbidities and previous surgical history were negatively linked to cancellation.

The top 2 categories for cancellations were medical factors (502, 68%) and patient-related factors (285, 34.8%). In 127 instances (15.5%), the patient or family refused surgery and 103 (12.6%) experienced acute conjunctivitis or uveitis relapse. In 71 instances (8.7$), the ocular condition improved and surgery was no longer needed.¹

Moreover, the researchers note that other ocular comorbidities, younger age, systemic comorbidities, local residence and no past surgical history are also factors for cancellation.

“The majority of cancellations were due to patient-related or medical factors,” the researchers concluded. “Great importance should be attached to the cancellation of the more complicated inpatient surgeries and further efforts are warranted to explore how to reduce cancellation.”

Reference:

1. Xinyo Zhao, Qing Zhao, Yanfang Wo, Shiyu Cheng, Lihui Meng, Xingwang Gu, Youxin Chen. Cancellation of the More Complicated Ophthalmic Inpatient Surgeries in a Tertiary General Hospital: A 10-year Retrospective Study. Front. Med. 2024. Accessed August 19, 2024. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1406140.