This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mariano, E. R. Articles by Macario, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mariano, E. R. Articles by Macario, A. Related Collections Economics and Health Care Research Pediatrics

---

PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA

Scheduling Elective Pediatric Procedures That Require Anesthesia: The Perspective of Parents

Edward R. Mariano, MD^*, Larry F. Chu, MD, MS (Biochemistry), MS (Epidemiology), Chandra Ramamoorthy, MBBS, and Alex Macario, MD, MBA

From the *Department of Anesthesia, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego; and Departments of Anesthesia, Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Edward R. Mariano, MD, Department of Anesthesia, University of California at San Diego Medical Center, 200 West Arbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92103-8770 (619) 543-5720. Address e-mail to ermariano{at}ucsd.edu.

Daily variability in volume of elective pediatric procedures that require anesthesia may lead to an imbalance between available operating room resources and case load. Longer intervals between scheduling and the surgical date generally result in higher operating room utilization. In this study, we sought to determine which factors influence when parents schedule their children for procedures. We also aimed to identify parents’ ideal and longest acceptable waiting intervals and determine whether type of procedure, for example, affects scheduling. From a convenience sample of 250 randomly selected parents of children presenting for elective surgery, 236 completed surveys were analyzed. The remaining 14 surveys were not returned. Overall, parents scheduled their child’s procedure a median of 4.3 wk (interquartile range 2.0–8.6) in advance and reported an ideal waiting interval of 3 wk (interquartile range 2–4), and longest acceptable interval of 6 wk (interquartile range 4–10). Parents were willing to wait longer to schedule cardiac (4 wk, P = 0.004) and plastic (3.5 wk, P = 0.024) surgery when compared with general surgical procedures. Overall, parents ranked severity of the child’s illness, earliest available time, and surgeon’s suggested date as the three most important factors influencing when their child’s surgery is scheduled. The timetable for scheduling procedures was highly correlated with both mother and father having available time off work (_b = 0.72, P < 0.0001). Surprisingly, parents did not show a preference for scheduling cases during vacation or summer months.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Dexter, L. Birchansky, J. M. Bernstein, and R. E. Wachtel Case Scheduling Preferences of One Surgeon's Cataract Surgery Patients Anesth. Analg., February 1, 2009; 108(2): 579 - 582. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. E. Wachtel and F. Dexter Tactical Increases in Operating Room Block Time for Capacity Planning Should Not Be Based on Utilization Anesth. Analg., January 1, 2008; 106(1): 215 - 226. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Dexter, Y. Xiao, A. J. Dow, M. M. Strader, D. Ho, and R. E. Wachtel Coordination of Appointments for Anesthesia Care Outside of Operating Rooms Using an Enterprise-Wide Scheduling System Anesth. Analg., December 1, 2007; 105(6): 1701 - 1710. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Dexter and R. E. Wachtel Patient Waiting Time Matters When Filling a Pod of Operating Rooms Arch Surg, November 1, 2007; 142(11): 1114 - 1114. [Full Text] [PDF]