Is the history and physical examination more important than routine testing for preoperative evaluation?
Emphasizes the primacy of a thorough history and physical examination over routine testing in preoperative evaluations.
The history and physical examination, rather than routine laboratory, cardiovascular, and pulmonary testing, are the most important components of the preoperative evaluation. The history should include a complete review of systems (especially cardiovascular and pulmonary), medication history, allergies, surgical and anesthetic history, and functional status.
Michota et al. (Thu,) studied this question.