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AMBULATORY ANESTHESIOLOGY

One-Year Experience with Day-of-Surgery Pregnancy Testing Before Elective Orthopedic Procedures

Richard L. Kahn, MD^*, Maureen A. Stanton, RN^*, Sarani Tong-Ngork, BS^*, Gregory A. Liguori, MD^*, Chris R. Edmonds, MD^*, and David S. Levine, MD^*

From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City, New York.

Address correspondence to Richard L. Kahn, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th St., New York, NY 10021. Address e-mail to kahnr{at}hss.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Elective surgery is generally postponed in pregnancy. A policy of testing for urine human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in all women of childbearing age on the day of surgery was initiated at an elective orthopedic surgery facility. This is a retrospective report of our 1 yr experience and the associated costs.

METHODS: Records were reviewed from January 3, 2005, through January 2, 2006, to determine the number of urine hCG tests performed, and the disposition of all patients with a positive result. Costs were calculated using the charges for testing supplies and laboratory labor.

RESULTS: During the first year of policy implementation, 2588 of 2595 women of childbearing age underwent urine hCG testing. Five patients had a positive result, and surgery was cancelled. Of these five, three were previously unrecognized pregnancies, one an unrecognized asymptomatic ectopic pregnancy, and one a false-positive result in a perimenopausal woman. Three other women had a "weak positive" urine result, followed by a negative serum hCG. Surgery proceeded in all three. The calculated cost was $5.03 per urine test, and $3273 for each true positive result.

CONCLUSIONS: A policy of routinely performing urine hCG pregnancy tests in women of childbearing age on the day of surgery was effective in detecting unrecognized pregnancy. This resulted in a postponement of elective surgery in all cases. Of 2588 women tested, one had surgery postponed because of a false-positive result. The cost of $3273 per true positive test must be compared with the benefit.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. K. Palmer, G. A. Van Norman, and S. L. Jackson Routine Pregnancy Testing Before Elective Anesthesia Is Not an American Society of Anesthesiologists Standard Anesth. Analg., May 1, 2009; 108(5): 1715 - 1716. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Kahn, G. A. Liguori, M. A. Stanton, D. S. Levine, and C. R. Edmonds Routine Pregnancy Testing Before Elective Anesthesia Is Not an American Society of Anesthesiologists Standard Anesth. Analg., May 1, 2009; 108(5): 1716 - 1716. [Full Text] [PDF]