Pre-operative transfusion testing is not necessary for the vast majority of surgical patients (e.g., appendectomy, cholecystectomy, hysterectomy and hernia repair) as those patients usually do not require transfusion. Ordering pre-transfusion testing for patients who will likely not require transfusion will lead to unnecessary blood drawn from a patient and unnecessary testing performed. It may also lead to unnecessary delay in the surgical procedure waiting for the results. To guide you whether pre-transfusion testing is required for a certain surgical procedure, your hospital may have a maximum surgical blood ordering schedule or specific testing guidelines based on current surgical practices.
Sources:
Guidelines for implementation of a maximum surgical blood order schedule. The British Committee for Standards in Haematology Blood Transfusion Task Force. Clin Lab Haematol. 1990;12(3):321-7. PMID: 2272160.
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Guidelines for Maximum Surgical Blood Ordering Schedule, version 1.0 [Internet]. 2012 Dec 28 [cited 2017 May 5].
Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN). Maximum Surgical Blood Order Schedule (MSBOS): Development Tool, version 1 [Internet]. 2014 Dec 5 [cited 2017 May 5].
University of Michigan. Providing Blood Components for Perioperative Patients [Internet]. 2010 Jan 4 [cited 2017 May 5].
Related Resources:
Toolkit: Drop the Pre-Op – A toolkit for reducing unnecessary visits and investigations in pre-operative clinics