Patient reactions to cancelled or postponed heart operations
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Published on: September 28, 2022
Bodil Ivarsson1, Per Ola Kimblad, Trygve Sjöberg
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden.
Insights
Planned cardiac operation cancellations negatively impacted patients, particularly women, who experienced higher depression rates. Organizational issues exacerbated negative reactions, highlighting the need for improved pre-admission processes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Patient Outcomes
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Planned cardiac surgeries are susceptible to cancellations.
- Understanding patient psychological impact is crucial for care quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and reasons for cardiac operation cancellations.
- To assess the psychological effects of cancellations on patients.
- To compare outcomes with non-cancelled surgeries.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 74 patients with cancelled cardiac operations.
- Utilized The Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale for mood assessment.
- Compared with 93 patients who underwent surgery as planned.
Main Results:
- 61% of cancelled patients showed negative reactions, linked to organizational reasons (P=0.03).
- Women in the cancellation group reported significantly higher depression (P=0.01).
- Patients were generally satisfied with nursing care and information provided.
Conclusions:
- Patient cancellations, especially for organizational reasons, lead to adverse psychological responses.
- Women are disproportionately affected by depression following cancellations.
- Proactive identification of organizational/medical issues via pre-admission clinics is recommended.
Objectives:
The aim was to survey the rate and cause of cancellations of planned cardiac operations at a Swedish clinic during 1999, and to study how the patients were affected.
Design:
Questionnaires were distributed to 74 patients who had their operations cancelled. Their mood after discharge was measured with The Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Ninety-three patients, who were operated on without postponement, served as controls.
Results:
Sixty-one percent of the patients in the cancellation group reacted negatively, especially if the reason for cancellation was organizational (P = 0.03). The women in the cancellation group had a significantly higher degree of depression than men (P = 0.01) and both women (P = 0.02) and men (P = 0.003) in the control group. Most of the patients, however, were satisfied with the nursing staff's reception and information.
Conclusions:
The patients reacted negatively to the cancellation, especially if it had organizational reasons. Women subjected to cancellation had a significantly higher degree of depression than other patients. To be avoided, organizational and medical problems must be identified in time. One way to do this is to introduce a preadmission nurse clinic.
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