Cardiac Surgery Cancellation at a Large UK Centre and Patient Satisfaction Survey - Quality Improvement Study

This prospective audit was performed over a 7-month period (August - March 2018). A quality improvement team, consisting of two clinical research fellows and a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, reviewed all the cancellations. The research is reported in line with the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines.

Adult patients undergoing elective and urgent cardiac surgery were included in our study. Those who underwent emergency or non-cardiac procedures and patients under the age of 18 were excluded. Patients were identified on a weekly basis from theatre registers and printed operating lists. Same day surgery cancellations were defined as any postponement of patients' operation once listed for surgery.

Electronic hospital records were reviewed, and the following information was recorded for all patients: demographics; scheduled surgery date; euroSCORE II and its components; admission type (elective/urgent in-house/transfer patient); date of pre-operative anaesthetic review. Additionally, reasons for cancellation, timing of cancellation (pre-operative/during anaesthesia/intraoperative) and outcomes were recorded. Outcomes included: time from cancellation to performed operation; hospital stay post-cancellation and mortality. Patients were divided into cancelled (C) and non-cancelled (NC) groups for analysis.

The reasons for cancellation were categorized into: lack of ITU beds and nurses; patient medically unfit; scheduling error; patient-related issues; emergency intervened; procedure no longer needed; lack of perfusionist; incomplete investigations; surgeon unavailable; transfer issue; theatre staff shortage; electrical system failure; new intra-operative TOE findings. Patient-related issues included failure to stop medication and treatment refusal. Scheduling errors included overrunning cases, overbooking of the operating room, late operation start and IT errors.

The investigators further assessed the impact of cancellations on patient satisfaction and wellbeing. Patients completed a questionnaire by telephone at 3 months after discharge to allow time to reflect. Questionnaire data assessed adherence to Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland Theatre Efficiency guidance, including healthcare professional informing patients; time offered for explanation; patient understanding and satisfaction as well as perception of being kept nil by mouth (NBM) longer than necessary. (Figure 1) This questionnaire has previously been used by Wasim et al. to assess patient experience following cancelled orthopaedic surgery. A pilot study was conducted to trial the its' validity.