Abstract

Background: Unnecessary laboratory testing is common during the preoperative evaluation of patients. This study aims to determine the prevalence of abnormalities in the preoperative investigation in patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade I and II undergoing all elective operations and their impact on the decision of surgery on postoperative complications.
Methodology: A retrospective chart review was conducted from all records of patients with ASA grade I and II undergoing any elective operations from January 1 2016 to March 31 2019 in King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.
Results This study included a total of 1,473 patients who underwent surgery. As per the ASA grade, 641 (43.5%) had grade I and 832 (56.5%) had grade II. General surgeons handled most cases [976 (66.3%)]. The most common procedure performed by general surgeons was laparoscopic cholecystectomy, accounting for 261 cases (26.7%). The serum creatinine test revealed that 32% of ASA I and 26.1% of ASA II patients had low creatinine levels. Only 4.1% of ASA I and 5.6% of ASA II patients had high blood urea nitrogen levels. In our study, 5.3% of
patients with ASA I and 3.4% of patients with ASA II showed leukopenia. Moreover, 8.9% of patients with ASA I and II each showed high prothrombin time.
Conclusion We should preserve preoperative tests for high-risk patients. They should be ordered if there is an indication in the history or physical examination.

Key words: American Society of Anesthesiologists, elective, surgery, preoperative, investigation