Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study

Objectives To estimate the prevalence and severity of patient-reported physical and non-physical harm following surgery cancellation.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting A large Danish university hospital.Participants Patients (≥18 years) from various surgical specialities, such as orthopaedic, spin...

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Main Authors: Lone Nikolajsen, Pia Dreyer, Anette Viftrup, Sussie Laustsen, Maria Levin Pahle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2024-11-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/11/e082807.full
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author Lone Nikolajsen
Pia Dreyer
Anette Viftrup
Sussie Laustsen
Maria Levin Pahle
author_facet Lone Nikolajsen
Pia Dreyer
Anette Viftrup
Sussie Laustsen
Maria Levin Pahle
author_sort Lone Nikolajsen
collection DOAJ
description Objectives To estimate the prevalence and severity of patient-reported physical and non-physical harm following surgery cancellation.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting A large Danish university hospital.Participants Patients (≥18 years) from various surgical specialities, such as orthopaedic, spinal, abdominal, gynaecological, thoracic, vascular and urological surgery whose surgery was cancelled <2 weeks prior to the scheduled date due to hospital-related causes.OutcomePatient-reported physical and non-physical harm, defined as physical worsening, emotional strain and other consequences, measured using a patient-reported survey.Results We identified 785 patients whose surgery was cancelled from 1 December 2021 to 1 June 2022, of whom 436 (55.5%) responded to the electronic survey. Physical worsening was reported by 42% and emotional strain by 48% of patients. One-third of patients reported an inability to continue daily activities, and 28% reported a need for an increased dose of analgesics. Emotional strain included various negative feelings such as being disappointed (59%) and lonely (31%). Furthermore, 44% of the respondents feared deterioration of their disease and 9% experienced anxiety of dying. The relative risk of emotional strain was higher in females than in males (54% vs 41%, adjusted relative risk (RR)=1.32 (1.08; 1.63)). A waiting period >30 days compared with ≤30 days was associated with a higher risk of physical worsening (25.3% vs 48.9%, adjusted RR=1.93 (1.42; 2.63)).Conclusions Harm, measured as physical worsening and emotional strain, is reported with severity by nearly half of respondents following cancellation.
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spelling doaj-art-a586773af4a1470f9a26ddbd7255c3372024-11-10T10:40:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-11-01141110.1136/bmjopen-2023-082807Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional studyLone Nikolajsen0Pia Dreyer1Anette Viftrup2Sussie Laustsen3Maria Levin Pahle4Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, DenmarkObjectives To estimate the prevalence and severity of patient-reported physical and non-physical harm following surgery cancellation.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting A large Danish university hospital.Participants Patients (≥18 years) from various surgical specialities, such as orthopaedic, spinal, abdominal, gynaecological, thoracic, vascular and urological surgery whose surgery was cancelled <2 weeks prior to the scheduled date due to hospital-related causes.OutcomePatient-reported physical and non-physical harm, defined as physical worsening, emotional strain and other consequences, measured using a patient-reported survey.Results We identified 785 patients whose surgery was cancelled from 1 December 2021 to 1 June 2022, of whom 436 (55.5%) responded to the electronic survey. Physical worsening was reported by 42% and emotional strain by 48% of patients. One-third of patients reported an inability to continue daily activities, and 28% reported a need for an increased dose of analgesics. Emotional strain included various negative feelings such as being disappointed (59%) and lonely (31%). Furthermore, 44% of the respondents feared deterioration of their disease and 9% experienced anxiety of dying. The relative risk of emotional strain was higher in females than in males (54% vs 41%, adjusted relative risk (RR)=1.32 (1.08; 1.63)). A waiting period >30 days compared with ≤30 days was associated with a higher risk of physical worsening (25.3% vs 48.9%, adjusted RR=1.93 (1.42; 2.63)).Conclusions Harm, measured as physical worsening and emotional strain, is reported with severity by nearly half of respondents following cancellation.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/11/e082807.full
spellingShingle Lone Nikolajsen
Pia Dreyer
Anette Viftrup
Sussie Laustsen
Maria Levin Pahle
Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
BMJ Open
title Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
title_full Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
title_short Patient-reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a Danish university hospital: a cross-sectional study
title_sort patient reported harm following cancellation of planned surgery at a danish university hospital a cross sectional study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/11/e082807.full
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