IntroductionâOne-stop surgery (OSS) allows for same-day outpatient clinic visit, preoperative assessment, and surgical repair. This study aims to determine the efficiency, (cost-)effectiveness, and family satisfaction of one-stop inguinal hernia surgery compared with usual care.
Material and MethodsâChildren (⥠3 months) with inguinal hernia and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grades IâII, scheduled for OSS (intervention) or regular treatment (control) between March 1, 2017, and December 1, 2018, were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria consisted of age less than 3 months and ASA grades IIIâIV. The primary outcome measure was treatment efficiency (i.e., total number of hospital visits and waiting time [days] between referral and surgery). Secondary outcome measures were the effectiveness in terms of complication and recurrence rate, and parent-reported satisfaction and cost-effectiveness using the Dutch Pediatric Quality of Life Healthcare Satisfaction and Institute for Medical Technology Assessment Productivity Cost Questionnaire.
ResultsâNinety-one (intervention: 54; control: 37) patients (56% boys) were included. Median (interquartile range) number of hospital visits was lower in the intervention group (1 vs 3; pâ