IMPLEMENTATION OF GUIDELINES FOR PREOPERATIVE LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS IN PATIENTS SCHEDULED TO UNDERGO ELECTIVE SURGERY

Objective: To assess the impact on preoperative laboratory investigati ons in elective surgery after the implementation of guidelines for ord ering such tests. Design: A retrospective chart audit. Setting: A univ ersity teaching hospital. Patients: The charts of 903 patients who und erwent an elective surgical procedure from each surgical specialty exc ept cardiovascular and thoracic. Interventions: Implementation of guid elines for preoperative laboratory investigations. Main Outcome Measur es: Impact on the preoperative use of laboratory investigations after implementation of the guidelines as well as patient morbidity and mort ality. Results: The mean number of preoperative laboratory investigati ons done per patient decreased from 4.65 before implementation of the guidelines to 4.18 after (p < 0.001). There was no apparent adverse im pact on patient morbidity or mortality. Conclusion: Implementation of guidelines for preoperative laboratory investigations for elective sur gery resulted in a reduction in the number of tests without adverse im pact on patient morbidity or mortality.