[Admissions and readmissions from a unit of ambulatory surgery. Experiences after 2 411 surgical interventions]

Postoperative admissions to hospital from a hospital-based day-surgery unit were analysed over a period of 19 months. A total of 2,411 patients were surveyed. The admission rate within 24 hours of the operation was 1.5% (35 patients). Surgery, anaesthesia, pain and social reasons accounted for 37, 29, 20 and 14% of the admissions respectively. One patient was re-operated on. 24 patients (1%) were hospitalized later than 24 hours but within 30 days after surgery (mean 7.5 days), and were called re-admissions. Surgery (75.6%), pain (12.6%) and anaesthetic reasons (8.4%) accounted for the re-admissions. 12 patients (50%) underwent surgery when re-admitted. The number of admissions (4.1%, p < 0.001) and re-admissions (2.2%; p < 0.005) was significantly higher among gasteroenterologic patients than among patients operated on within other specialties. The time taken for the operation and the time spent under anaesthesia were significantly longer (p < 0.001 in both cases) for patients submitted to hospitalisation, but neither admission nor readmission was associated with age, gender, or health prior to operation (ASA classification).