“It is imperative to understand that the term “elective “surgery does not mean optional surgery, and rather implies that a procedure is not immediately indicated in response to a limb- or life-threatening emergency. A current estimate suggests that more than 50% of all elective surgical cases have a potential to inflict significant harm on patients if cancelled or delayed.”
The authors suggest a pragmatic guide based on underlying risk stratification and resource utilization will help support access to timely and appropriate surgical care to patients, while maintaining an unwavering stewardship for scarce resources and emergency preparedness. The authors have developed a tentative decision-making algorithm based on elective surgical indications and predicted perioperative utilization of critical resources.
