Office-based surgery and patient outcomes

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the current knowledge about patient safety and outcomes in the office-based setting. Ambulatory procedures performed outside the hospital are steadily increasing, resulting in an increasing number and complexity of office-based procedures and patient comorbidities over the past two decades. In this review we focus on most recent outcomes studies encompassing different surgical specialties and patient populations. Recent findings Rates of complications in the office-based surgical (OBS) setting from the latest publications are similar to, or better than previously reported studies. Many of the studies published were in the field of plastic surgery, with a few publications on office vascular and dental procedures. The most common complications were haematomas, infections and venous thromboembolisms (VTE)s and pulmonary emboli. Death was a rare finding, though when it occurred, it was often associated with VTE/pulmonary emboli and abdominoplasties. Summary Overall, these studies contribute positively to the safety of office-based anaesthesia. As an increasing number of procedures migrate from the hospital setting to ambulatory and office-based environments, it will be critically important to continue ensuring patients are well tolerated. Correspondence to Richard D. Urman, MD, MBA, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Tel: +1 617 732 8222; e-mail: Rurman@bwh.harvard.edu Copyright © 2018 YEAR Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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