@article {DenisE382, author = {Antoine Denis and Julien Montreuil and Edward J. Harvey and Gregory K. Berry and Rudolf Reindl and Mitchell Bernstein}, title = {Cancellations and delays of emergent orthopedic operations at a Canadian level 1 trauma centre}, volume = {65}, number = {3}, pages = {E382--E387}, year = {2022}, doi = {10.1503/cjs.009420}, publisher = {Canadian Journal of Surgery}, abstract = {Background: Day-of surgery cancellation (DOSC) is considered to be a very inefficient use of hospital resources and results in emotional stress for the patient. To examine opportunities to minimize the incidence of preventable cancellations {\textemdash} an indicator of quality of care {\textemdash} we assessed the incidence of and reasons for DOSCs over 3 months among inpatients and outpatients at a trauma orthopedic service.Methods: This was a prospective study of 2 cohorts of patients, inpatients and outpatients, scheduled for emergent orthopedic surgery at a Canadian tertiary level 1 trauma centre from Jan. 1 to Mar. 31, 2020. Patient demographic characteristics, injury characteristics, delays until surgery and reasons for DOSCs were recorded.Results: A total of 185 patients (100 males and 85 females with a mean age of 54 yr) were included in the study. There were 98 outpatients and 87 inpatients. Seventy-five (40\%) of the scheduled procedures in the outpatient group and 34 (30\%) of those in the inpatient group were cancelled. In both groups, more than 85\% of the cancellations were because of prioritization of a more urgent orthopedic or nonorthopedic surgical case. The average operative delay for the outpatient group was 11.4 days, compared to 3.8 days for the inpatient group (p \< 0.001).Conclusion: High DOSC rates were observed among both outpatients and inpatients. The main reason for delaying surgery was prioritization of a more urgent surgical case. Providing the orthopedic trauma service with a dedicated OR opened 6 days per week, along with extended hours of OR services to 1700 daily, might be effective at minimizing DOSCs.}, issn = {0008-428X}, URL = {https://www.canjsurg.ca/content/65/3/E382}, eprint = {https://www.canjsurg.ca/content/65/3/E382.full.pdf}, journal = {Canadian Journal of Surgery} }