title: Avoiding Unnecessary Preoperative Testing.
abstract: Given the low-risk nature of cataract surgery, no preoperative testing is indicated unless the patient needs it for another reason. Although electrocardiograms may have a role in preoperative testing in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease, or if the procedure carries with it significant operative risks, they are often unnecessary. Urinalysis and coagulation studies not should be routine because they have not shown any value in predicting complications. Although these tests are not individually expensive, the aggregate cost is substantial. As good stewards of the medical system, physicians need to use these tests more judiciously.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 51 North 39th Street, Medical Arts Building, Suite 102, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: matthew.rusk@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rusk
mesh_terms: D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D011300:Preoperative Care; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures; D016482:Urinalysis
keywords: Cataract surgery; Preoperative ECGs; Preoperative testing