2023, Volume 16, Issue 4, pp 540 – 545

Clinical chemistry laboratory test overuse in a cardiology clinic: a single-center study

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues

Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding Author: Omar El-Masry, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: oselmasry@iau.edu.sa

Abstract

Diagnostic laboratory tests are frequently overused in healthcare entities, leading to an increased strain on laboratory resources, additional workload, and wastage of resources. Continuous monitoring of test ordering behavior is crucial to evaluate clinical necessity. This cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the necessity of ordering clinical chemistry tests in the cardiology clinic of a tertiary center in Saudi Arabia. We retrieved medical records of patients diagnosed with cardiovascular problems admitted at the cardiology clinic in 2020. The frequency and percentages of the ordered tests were calculated upon admission and follow-up, and the difference between necessary and unnecessary tests was compared for each category. Test ordering assessment included cardiac, renal, and liver functions, blood gases, thyroid and diabetic profile, iron indices, hormones, water and electrolytes, and inflammatory markers. The results showed a large number of clinical chemistry tests ordered without clinical necessity. While the number of necessary tests was significantly higher than that of unnecessary tests, 21% of the tests ordered between June-December 2021 at the center were unnecessary. Further studies are necessary to identify driving factors and develop strategies to reduce the overutilization of diagnostic laboratory tests in clinical practice. Eliminating this phenomenon will reduce the risk of unnecessary medical interventions and associated costs, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the overall burden on the healthcare system.

Keywords

About this article

PMC ID: 10251380
PubMed ID: 37305818
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2022-0338

Article Publishing Date (print): 4 2023
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues