title: Repeat haematinic requests in patients with previous normal results: the scale of the problem in elderly patients at a district general hospital.
abstract: Repeating normal laboratory tests can waste resources. This study aimed to quantify unnecessary repeat haematinic tests taken from the elderly in a district general hospital. Haematinic tests (ferritin, B12, serum folate) from patients age ≥ 70 years were reviewed for repeat tests during an 8-week period. Questionnaires were given to doctors to establish when the considered repeating a 'borderline low normal' result to be clinically justifiable. 7.7% of all haematinic tests were repeat tests and of these, the majority (83%) was performed following a previously normal result. Thirteen of 24 doctors believed repeating a normal result at the bottom of the normal range ('borderline low normal') was justifiable. After excluding 'borderline low normal' results, 6.0% (at minimum) of repeat tests were done following a previous normal result and were unnecessary. This audit showed that there are a significant number of unnecessary repeat haematinic tests being performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, South London Healthcare NHS Trust, Sidcup, Kent, UK. zainab_ganiyudada@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ganiyu-Dada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bowcock
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D006403:Hematologic Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012016:Reference Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins; D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12