Key result
An editorial discusses a retrospective study questioning the necessity of routine preoperative electrocardiograms for ambulatory surgery in patients under 60 years of age.
Why the study?
Is a routine preoperative electrocardiogram necessary for patients under the age of 60 undergoing ambulatory surgery?
Is a routine preoperative electrocardiogram necessary for patients under the age of 60 undergoing ambulatory surgery?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Routine preoperative ECGs may be unnecessary for patients under 60 undergoing ambulatory surgery, highlighting the need to balance testing costs against patient benefit.
Can the importance of a test be judged by the volume of tests ordered? Fisch 1 estimated in 1989 that approximately 100 million electrocardiograms (ECGs) are recorded annually at an approximate cost of $5 billion. That many of the 100 million ECGs were unnecessary cannot be questioned. It is useful, therefore, that we constantly review the need for all routine testing with a view to balancing cost against patient benefit. Also in 1989, it was estimated that 10 million outpatient surgical procedures were performed. 2 Preoperative ECGs were likely to have been obtained for most of the surgical patients over the age of 40 years, as has been recommended by Goldberger and O'Konski. 3 In this issue, Gold et as 4 question the need for routine preoperative ECGs for ambulatory surgery in patients under the age of 60 years. The authors base their conclusion on the results of a retrospective
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John A Paraskos (1992) conducted an editorial in Ambulatory surgery. Routine preoperative ECG was evaluated. An editorial discusses a retrospective study questioning the necessity of routine preoperative electrocardiograms for ambulatory surgery in patients under 60 years of age.
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