Outcome of ASA III patients undergoing day case surgery.
BACKGROUND
Day case surgery is becoming more acceptable, even for patients with complex medical conditions. Current recommendations suggest that patients who are graded as American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status (ASA) III may be suitable for this approach. There is only a small amount of published data available to support this. We present a retrospective review of ASA III patients who had undergone day surgical procedures in our unit.


METHODS
We carried out a retrospective case controlled review of 896 ASA III patients who had undergone day case procedures between January 1998 and June 2002 using the existing computerized patient information system. The system records admission rates, unplanned contact with healthcare services and post-operative complications in the first 24 h after discharge.


RESULTS
We demonstrated no significant differences in unplanned admission rates, unplanned contact with health care services, or post-operative complications in the first 24 h after discharge between ASA III and ASA I or II patients.


CONCLUSIONS
With good pre-assessment and adequate preparation ASA III patients can be treated safely in the day surgery setting.
Ansell
G L
GL
Department of Anaesthesia, Torbay District General Hospital, Lawes Bridge, Torquay TQ2 7AA, UK. gillyansell@hotmail.com
Montgomery
J E
JE
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome