THE USEFULNESS OF ROUTINE PREOPERATIVE LABORATORY TESTS FOR ONE-DAY SURGERY IN HEALTHY-CHILDREN

Since 1984, laboratory tests have not been routinely required for heal thy paediatric patients scheduled for one-day surgery in our Paediatri c Surgery Department. We reviewed the medical charts of all children A SA physical status 1 and 2 who underwent a minor surgical procedure in the last 15 years. We excluded all former preterm infants of less tha n 60 weeks postconceptual age. The series under examination includes t wo groups of patients: group A includes 1884 children who underwent ro utine preoperative laboratory tests; group B includes 8772 children wh o had preoperative, selected laboratory tests performed only when the child's history and/or clinical examination revealed some abnormalitie s. The following data were collected: demographic data, ASA physical s tatus classification, surgical procedure, anaesthetic technique, major and minor complications, length of hospital stay, the difference betw een the expected length of hospitalization and the actual length, numb er and reasons for cancellations of surgery. On the basis of our exper ience we believe that a thorough clinical assessment of the patient is more important than routine preoperative laboratory screening, which should be required only when justified by real clinical indications. M oreover, this practice eliminates unnecessary costs without compromisi ng the safety and the quality of care.