The quality of pre-operative preparation of patients undergoing elective surgery at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, Rwanda

BACKGROUND: Pre-anesthesia preparation is essential for safe surgery. However, little is known about the quality of pre-anesthesia preparation in Rwanda. The objectives of this project were to evaluate the quality of pre-anesthesia preparation at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) and to determine areas that need improvement.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a convenient sampling method was conducted during the period from November 1^st to November 30^th 2016.
We collected data on completeness of information on the operations list, timing of anesthesia visit, the rate of anesthesia consultations, the rate of explanation of the type of anesthesia and options of pain control, and the rate of non-optimized cases.

RESULTS: Among 109 patients enrolled in the study, 44 (40.4%) were females and 65 (59.6%) were males. Only 60 (55%) were written on the operation list before 1h00 pm. Name, age, hospital address, and diagnosis and procedure were mentioned in 93 (85,6%), 87 (89.2%), 80 (73.4%), and 99 (90.6%) respectively. Pre-anesthesia evaluation was done in 90 (82.6%) and mainly between 1h00 pm and 5h00 pm 62 (56.9%). The types of anesthesia and pain control were explained in 87 (79.8%) and 67 (61.5%) patients respectively. Results of investigations were available for 97 (89%) patients, 6 (5.5%) patients required optimization and 2 (1.8%) patients were postponed.

CONCLUSION: Despite a good performance in many aspects of pre-anesthesia preparation, an effective intervention is needed to improve some areas. Mainly the utilization of the operations’ list and standardization of the pre-anesthesia preparation.