THE IMPORTANCE OF PRE-ANESTHETIC EVALUATION IN THE PREOPERATIVE PERIOD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN 2018 AND 2020 IN LIGHT OF SURGICAL CANCELLATIONS AT THE VASSOURAS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

This study aimed to highlight the importance of pre-anesthetic evaluation in the preoperative period as a strategy to reduce the cancellation of elective surgeries, as well as to identify the main factors associated with the suspension of these procedures at the Vassouras University Hospital. To this end, an observational, retrospective, quantitative, and descriptive study was developed, based on the analysis of medical records and the hospital's institutional database, after approval by the institutional review board. Approximately 2,000 records of canceled elective surgeries over two years, involving different surgical specialties, were examined. The variables analyzed included age, sex, type of procedure, professional responsible for the cancellation, and the reasons for the suspension. The results indicated that patients between 14 and 91 years of age comprised the sample and revealed that the most frequent causes of cancellation were related to the absence or inadequacy of pre-anesthetic evaluation, in addition to the patient's clinical conditions and organizational and administrative failures. It is concluded that the proper execution of the pre-anesthetic evaluation is fundamental to reducing the number of surgical cancellations, promoting greater patient safety, better organization of services and optimization of hospital resources, in addition to reinforcing the need to improve institutional protocols and the integrated performance of multidisciplinary teams.