title: Patterns of preoperative laboratory testing in patients undergoing outpatient plastic surgery procedures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preoperative laboratory testing is commonplace in the clinical setting and is often utilized at surgeon discretion. We searched the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) data set to determine the impact of preoperative laboratory testing in ambulatory plastic surgery patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors assess the utilization and predictive value of preoperative laboratory testing in outpatient plastic surgery procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients undergoing ambulatory plastic surgery were identified from the 2005 to 2010 NSQIP databases. Laboratory tests were categorized by group: hematologic, chemistry, coagulation, and liver function tests (LFT). We defined complications in 2 groups: major postoperative and wound complications. Multivariate analyses were used to identify patient characteristics associated with testing and to assess the ability of laboratory testing to predict postoperative complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 5359 (62.0%) patients underwent testing; 881 (16.4%) tests were performed on the day of surgery. In patients with no defined NSQIP comorbidities, 59.4% underwent preoperative testing and had a significantly lower rate of abnormal findings (33.4% vs 25.3%, P < .0001). In multivariate analyses, testing was associated with older age, American Society of Anesthesiologists class >2, Hispanic or African American race, body contouring procedures, epidural or spinal procedures, and with diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Major complications occurred in 0.34% of patients. Our analysis demonstrated that neither testing nor abnormal results were associated with postoperative complications, either major (P = .178) or wound (P = .150).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no association between abnormal laboratory testing and postoperative morbidity. Preoperative testing in low-risk ambulatory plastic surgery patients may be costly and has limited direct clinical benefit.
authors: Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors: John P
authors: JP
authors: Fischer
authors: Eric K
authors: EK
authors: Shang
authors: Jonas A
authors: JA
authors: Nelson
authors: Liza C
authors: LC
authors: Wu
authors: Joseph M
authors: JM
authors: Serletti
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Kovach
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends*; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000639:trends; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D064790:Clinical Laboratory Services / Q000639:trends*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006403:Hematologic Tests / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests / Q000639:trends; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000639:trends; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
keywords: ambulatory surgery; complication; laboratory; labs; preoperative testing