ABSTRACT
Introduction: surgical deferral since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic represents a risk to the health of patients and a challenge for health institutions. The metric of productivity indicators in the operating room, such as the surgical deferral rate, will provide us with information to plan strategies based on scientific evidence that allow us to improve the quality of care. Objective: to determine the surgical deferral rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: a retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in which 297 patients whose surgeries were deferred during the period from March 11, 2020 to March 10, 2021 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were employed, using measures of central tendency and dispersion, simple frequencies and proportions. Additionally, a Pareto diagram was made. The information was processed with SPSS v-25.0. Results: the deferral rate was 7.34%. 20.92% of the causes were attributed to the patient, 31.65% to medical causes and 47.49% logistic-administrative. Conclusion: the established causes of surgical deferral are avoidable and reveal failures in the logistical-administrative processes that require continuous improvement plans. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Introducción: el diferimiento quirúrgico desde el inicio de la pandemia COVID-19 representa un riesgo para la salud de los pacientes y un reto para las instituciones sanitarias. La métrica de indicadores de productividad en quirófano, como la tasa de diferimiento quirúrgico, nos brindará información para planear estrategias basadas en evidencia científica que nos permitan mejorar la calidad de la atención. Objetivo: determinar la tasa de diferimiento quirúrgico durante la pandemia COVID-19. Material y métodos: se realizó un estudio, retrospectivo, descriptivo y transversal en el que se analizaron 297 pacientes cuyas cirugías fueron diferidas durante el período comprendido del 11 de marzo de 2020 al 10 de marzo de 2021. Para el análisis de variables se efectuó estadística descriptiva, utilizando medidas de tendencia central y dispersión, frecuencias simples y proporciones. Adicionalmente se realizó un diagrama de Pareto. La información fue procesada con SPSS v-25.0. Resultados: la proporción de diferimiento fue de 7.34%;20.92% de las causas fueron atribuidas al paciente, 31.65% a causas médicas y 47.49% fueron logísticoadministrativas. Conclusión: las causas de diferimiento quirúrgico establecidas son evitables y revelan fracasos en los procesos logístico-administrativos que requieren planes de mejora continua. (Spanish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Anestesiologia is the property of Colegio Mexicano de Anestesiologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)