Abstract: PURPOSE: To explore the application effect of internet outpatient services in preanesthesia evaluation (PAE) for patients undergoing oral and maxillofacial day surgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the outpatient data of patients scheduled for oral and maxillofacial day surgery in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from June 2024 to December 2024. The patients were divided into two groups based on the method of anesthesia assessment: the in-office PAE group (in-office group) and the internet outpatient PAE group (internet group). After balancing the baseline data of the two groups using propensity score matching(PSM), the surgical cancellation rate, difficult airway assessment, transportation costs, lost work costs, and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 1 828 patients were included in the study, and 457 pairs of patients were successfully matched by PSM. The surgical cancellation rate in the internet group(2.2%) showed no significant difference from that in the in-office group(1.3%). The number of anticipated difficult airway cases in the internet group (n=20) was not significantly different from the in-office group(n=24). Patients in the internet group saved an average of 551.8 RMB in transportation costs and 135.9 RMB in lost work costs. Patients' satisfaction in the internet group(99.2%) was significantly higher than that in the in-office group (90.9%) (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with traditional outpatient PAE, internet outpatient PAE significantly reduces medical costs, improves the patient experience, and enhances patient satisfaction, without increasing the surgical cancellation rate or affecting difficult airway assessment. It is worthy of promotion and application.

Key words: Preanesthesia evaluation, Internet outpatient, Day surgery, Oral and maxillofacial surgery