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CompletedNCT03812133Updated Jan 22, 2019

Risk Factors and Reasons for Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Scheduled Elective Surgery in an Academic Medical Centre

An observational study in Operating Theatre Cancellations, sponsored by Singapore General Hospital. Completed. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-01-22.

Sponsored by Singapore General Hospital · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Retrospective
Enrollment
4,060
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The Operating Theatre (OT) is the largest cost centre as well as the main revenue generator in most hospitals. One of the common problems affecting optimal OT utilization is the cancellation of scheduled surgeries. The goal of this study was to identify factors associated with cancellation within 24 hours of scheduled surgeries in a tertiary hospital

Read the detailed description

The Operating Theatre (OT) is the largest cost centre as well as the main revenue generator in most hospitals. The operating theatre involves significant resources - materials, medications and manpower. One of the common problems affecting optimal OT utilization is the cancellation of scheduled surgeries. This results in a significant waste of resources, especially when cancellation occurs within 24 hours of the scheduled surgery, when it is too late to arrange replacement surgery. Cancellation also impacts the patient and their families.

Reported cancellation rates range between 5% to 40%. Reasons for cancellations vary, including patient factors, surgeon factors, and system issues relating to the preoperative anaesthesia assessment clinic attendance, the surgery itself, and the availability of post-surgical care facilities. Between 60% to 90% of cancellations have been reported to be potentially avoidable.

The goal of this study was to identify factors associated with cancellation within 24 hours of scheduled surgery in a tertiary academic hospital, and the reasons for cancellation, with the goal of identifying areas for intervention to reduce avoidable surgery cancellations and reduce unnecessary waste.

02

Conditions studied

  • Operating Theatre Cancellations
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Singapore General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 270 studies on the registry; 58 are open to participants now.

Of its 8 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

The median patient age was 68 years (IQR 63 - 75 years), with 44% being male patients and 80% Chinese. Majority were Singapore citizens or permanent residents (98%). Two-thirds of the surgical patients were in a subsidized ward class (2665, 66%). Only 2% required Medifund assistance.

Eligibility criteria

Adult patients (age 18 years and older) who were scheduled for elective surgery at the Singapore General Hospital main operating theatre or ambulatory surgical centre, regardless of surgical discipline, or residency, were included in the study. Only the first surgery in the study period was included if a patient had multiple surgeries over this period. Minor surgeries under local anaesthesia were also excluded. We excluded those without previous admissions in the past 3 years prior to the surgery, as data for chronic disease history and healthcare utilization patterns were not available for these patients

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Retrospective
Enrollment
4,060 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • Surgical patients

    Patients who were electively scheduled for surgery.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Cancellation

    Cancellation of surgery within 24 hours of procedure

    Time frame: 24 hours of surgery

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 22, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03812133
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 22, 2019
Start date
Jun 1, 2015
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2016
Completion
Dec 31, 2016
Last update
Jan 22, 2019

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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