Effect of clinical anesthesia preoperative evaluation on the length of preoperative period and total hospitalization of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Joo-Yong Lee; Hyeon-Tae Kim; Jung-Hee Choi; Hyung-Min Lee; Jin-Wook Park; Young Duck Shin; Young Jin Choi

Effect of clinical anesthesia preoperative evaluation on the length of preoperative period and total hospitalization of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Am J Transl Res. 2021 Oct 15;13(10):11943-11947. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Joo-Yong Lee¹, Hyeon-Tae Kim¹, Jung-Hee Choi¹, Hyung-Min Lee¹, Jin-Wook Park¹, Young Duck Shin¹, Young Jin Choi²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University Chungcheongbuk-do 28644, Korea.
² Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University Chungcheongbuk-do 28644, Korea.

PMID: 34786126
PMCID: PMC8581907

Abstract

Objective: Anesthesia preoperative evaluation clinics (APECs) are currently operating in several South Korean hospitals. While several studies have investigated the impact of APEC operations on the length of total hospital stay (LTHS), few have investigated their impact on the length of preoperative hospital stay (LPHS) for patients. In this study, we aimed to determine whether APEC affected the LPHS and LTHS.

Methods: Data of all patients who underwent surgery at Chungbuk National University Hospital between September 2009 and August 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients who had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy over the last 10 years were categorized into two groups: those who visited the APEC (Group A), and those who did not (Group B). The age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status score, LPHS, and LTHS of the two groups were compared.

Results: The LPHS was 1.03±0.2 days in Group A and 1.61±1.6 days in Group B. The LTHS was 4.77±1.9 days in Group A and 5.63±2.6 days in Group B. The LPHS and LTHS of the two groups differed by 0.58 and 0.9 days, respectively.

Conclusion: We evaluated the effect of APEC operations on the LPHS and LTHS of inpatients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy and observed a decrease in both the LPHS and LTHS. Understanding and accepting the importance of APEC is significant for physicians and administrators working to improve hospital efficiency and patient outcomes. Further research is needed to investigate the need and benefits of APECs.

Keywords: Length of stay; outpatients; preoperative care; preoperative period.