Observational study of delay in surgical management of trauma patients at a tertiary care hospital: A retrospective study

Traumatic injuries are the major leading causes of death in India and in other countries. The delay in operating the trauma patients due to any reason may lead to increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stays and overall cost. It may also lead to dissatisfaction among patients and reflects the inefficiency of the operating staff. Purpose: To decrease the delay in surgical management of trauma patients due to organisational reasons. Materials and Methods: The present retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics, GMC Jammu, over a period of seven months with the aim assess the magnitude and causes of the cancellation of elective surgical cases in a tertiary hospital. The data from 452 patients were collected and analysed. Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 41±15.5 years. The majority of the study subjects were males (67.2%), most of the patients were living in rural area (64.2%) and 69% subjects had cancellation of surgery. Elective case cancellation rate in our study was 31% and lack of OT space was major contributing factor in delay of the surgery. Conclusion: The present study concluded that majority of the surgical delays were due to organizational reasons which are avoidable and there is a room for improvement and most importantly the patient care will have a positive outcome.