An anaesthetic pre-operative assessment clinic reduces pre-operative inpatient stay in patients requiring major vascular surgery

Patients undergoing major vascular surgery (MVS) require extensive anaesthetic assessment. This can require extended pre-operative stays. We investigated whether a newly established anaesthetic pre-operative assessment clinic (PAC) would reduce the pre-operative inpatient stay, avoid unnecessary investigations and facilitate day before surgery (DBS) admissions for patients undergoing MVS. One year following and preceding the establishment of the PAC the records of patients undergoing open or endovascular aortic aneurysm repair, carotid endarterectomy and infra-inguinal bypass were reviewed to measure pre-operative length of stay (LoS). Pre-operative LoS was significantly reduced in the study period (1.85 vs. 4.2 days, respectively, P < 0.0001). Only 12 out of 61 patients in 2007 were admitted on the DBS and this increased to 33 out of 63 patients (P = 0.0002). No procedure was cancelled for medical reasons. The PAC has facilitated accurate outpatient anaesthetic assessment for patients requiring MVS. The pre-operative in-patient stay has been significantly reduced.