Analysis of unanticipated admission after outpatient anesthesia

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Outpatient anesthesia is becoming more universal because of patient comfort and reduced health care cost. But unanticipated admission after outpatient anesthesia poses patient discomfort and increases cost. We investigated past medical records to evaluate the incidence and the causes of unanticipated admission after outpatient anesthesia. METHODS: Total number of outpatient anesthesia were 1268 patients between November 2007 and June 2009. Medical records were retrospectively analyzed about 35 patients who admitted unexpectedly. RESULTS: The overall mean rates of admissions during the study period was 2.8 percent. The principal reasons for admissions were observation, surgery related admissions, medical disease, wish of patients and anesthesia related admissions. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of unanticipated admission was 2.8%, department of general surgery had the highest admission rate and observation was the most common cause of unanticipated admission.