Objective To systematically analyze the relevant research on quality management evaluation indicators for day surgery at home and abroad, and provide a basis and reference for constructing a more scientific, systematic, and comprehensive quality management evaluation indicator system for day surgery. Methods PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, OVID, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, and Wanfang were systematically searched. The retrieval time limit was from databases establishment to April 1, 2025. The data related to the evaluation indicators of quality management in day surgery were extracted and integrated for analysis. Results Finally, 73 articles were included, including 49 Chinese articles and 24 English articles. Based on the 3-dimensional quality structure model, the indicators were divided into 3 primary indicators (structure, process, and result), 15 secondary indicators, and 49 tertiary indicators. There were 4 secondary indicators and 16 tertiary indicators related to structure. The top 3 tertiary indicators with the highest number of related studies were establishing admission criteria for day surgery patients, establishing admission criteria for day surgery specialists, establishing clinical pathways for day surgery, and establishing emergency protocols for day surgery. There were 7 secondary indicators and 22 tertiary indicators related to the process. The top 3 tertiary indicators with the highest number of related studies were the implementation rate of discharge follow-up, completion rate of patient satisfaction survey, and completion rate of preoperative condition assessment. There were 4 secondary indicators and 11 tertiary indicators related to the results. The top 3 tertiary indicators with the highest number of related studies were rate of postoperative complication, rate of reaching the standard for patient satisfaction scores, and rate of unplanned readmission. Conclusion The current quality management evaluation indicator system for day surgery in China is still in the exploration and development stage, and lacks a complete, unified, and standardized indicator system.
Objective To explore the research status, development trends, hot topics and frontiers in the field of day surgery in China, so as to provide references for researchers engaged in day surgery research in China. Methods Relevant studies on day surgery published from 2015 to 2025 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure. CiteSpace software was adopted to conduct visual analysis of the literature and investigate the research trends. Results A total of 2913 articles were included. Since 2015, the overall annual publication output of domestic research on day surgery had shown an upward trend, peaking in 2023 with 346 articles. Medical institutions represented by West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University had published a large number of representative papers. Research attention in the field of day surgery mainly centered on enhanced recovery after surgery, nursing and patient satisfaction. In recent years, research hotspots of day surgery had focused on high-quality development, refined management, as well as alfentanil, a novel anesthetic. ConclusionsResearch in the field of day surgery in China is evolving from the initial stage of framework establishment and efficiency improvement toward in-depth advancement of refined workflows, scientific management and innovative technologies. In the future, scattered “best practices” can be elevated into universally instructive management theories and implementation frameworks, so as to facilitate the paradigm shift of the day surgery toward higher efficiency, greater intelligence and stronger patient-centeredness.