Preoperative laboratory evaluation of patients aged over 40 years undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery.

Context And Objective: Although it is generally agreed that a medical history and physical examination should be obtained as part of preoperative evaluation, there is still substantial controversy about the additional benefits of preoperative screening tests. The objective of the present study was to determine the percentage of abnormalities on laboratory tests among a population that underwent non-cardiac surgery and to correlate these tests with changes in preoperative evaluation management.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study, carried out in a University Hospital.