title: Preoperative pregnancy testing in adolescents.
abstract: Anesthetics and other drugs used during the perioperative period may have teratogenic or abortive effects. The pregnancy status of surgical patients is often unknown. This investigation examined retrospectively the results of 2 yr of mandatory pregnancy testing in 412 adolescent surgical patients. The overall incidence of positive tests was 1.2%. Five of 207 patients aged 15 yr and older tested positive, for an incidence of 2.4% in that group. None of the 205 patients under the age of 15 yr had a positive pregnancy test. We conclude that mandatory pregnancy testing is advisable in adolescent surgical patients aged 15 yr and older.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, St. Louis University, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Azzam
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Padda
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: DeBoard
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krock
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kolterman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011258:Pregnancy Tests; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D012189:Retrospective Studies