Observational studyBritish journal of anaesthesia2018
Cancelled operations: a 7-day cohort study of planned adult inpatient surgery in 245 UK National Health Service hospitals.
Observational study in British journal of anaesthesia, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Intensive care after vascular surgery: systematic review.The British journal of surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Surgical cancellation and changes in postoperative level of care among high and moderate risk surgical patients in the UK.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2026Article
- The Postponement and Cancellations in Elective Care study: a national evaluation of case postponements and cancellations in elective surgical pathways.British journal of anaesthesia · 2026Article
- Review
- Observational
- Article
- Factors associated with admission before the day of elective major surgery: an analysis of data from the UK Perioperative Quality Improvement Programme.British journal of anaesthesia · 2026Observational
- Treatment interruption during neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Translational lung cancer research · 2025Article
- Integrated care for people with multimorbidity into elective surgical pathways: mixed-methods co-design study.The British journal of surgery · 2025Article
- Building an initial programme theory to explain how and why on-the-day surgery cancellations occur and how they might be reduced.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Prevalence, causes, and staff perception of same-day elective surgery cancellation at a university hospital: a mixed study.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2025Article
- Cancelled elective operations and 28-day breaches in the NHS in England: an interrupted time series analysis of the 2002 penalty policy, 2008 recession, and COVID-19 pandemic (1994-2023).The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Last-minute cancellation of elective lung cancer surgery is associated with poorer survival.Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2025Article
- Effects of Virtually Led Value-Based Preoperative Assessment on Safety, Efficiency, and Patient and Professional Satisfaction.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Implementing a closed loop clinical decision support system for sustainable preoperative care.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- A mixed methods study protocol evaluating early screening, triaging, risk assessment and health optimisation in perioperative pathways.PloS one · 2025Article
- Delays and Discrepancies in the Care of Older Injured Patients Across the United Kingdom: A Cohort Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Article
- Modelling the economic constraints and consequences of anaesthesia associate expansion in the UK National Health Service: a narrative review.British journal of anaesthesia · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
166 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancellation of planned surgery impacts substantially on patients and health systems. This study describes the incidence and reasons for cancellation of inpatient surgery in the UK NHS.
methodsWe conducted a prospective observational cohort study over 7 consecutive days in March 2017 in 245 NHS hospitals. Occurrences and reasons for previous surgical cancellations were recorded. Using multilevel logistic regression, we identified patient- and hospital-level factors associated with cancellation due to inadequate bed capacity.
resultsWe analysed data from 14 936 patients undergoing planned surgery. A total of 1499 patients (10.0%) reported previous cancellation for the same procedure; contemporaneous hospital census data indicated that 13.9% patients attending inpatient operations were cancelled on the day of surgery. Non-clinical reasons, predominantly inadequate bed capacity, accounted for a large proportion of previous cancellations. Independent risk factors for cancellation due to inadequate bed capacity included requirement for postoperative critical care [odds ratio (OR)=2.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.12-4.02; P<0.001] and the presence of an emergency department in the treating hospital (OR=4.18; 95% CI, 2.22-7.89; P<0.001). Patients undergoing cancer surgery (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.22-0.46; P<0.001), obstetric procedures (OR=0.17; 95% CI, 0.08-0.32; P<0.001), and expedited surgery (OR=0.39; 95% CI, 0.27-0.56; P<0.001) were less likely to be cancelled.
conclusionsA significant proportion of patients presenting for surgery have experienced a previous cancellation for the same procedure. Cancer surgery is relatively protected, but bed capacity, including postoperative critical care requirements, are significant risk factors for previous cancellations.
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