What tests to pass before the operation? We will understand in this article.
If a person has to be treated in a hospital, then he will be asked to pass a certain number of tests necessary for hospitalization and corresponding to the clinical protocols and the profile of the department in which he is to lie. If a person needs surgical treatment, then the list of tests before surgery may be more extensive in order to understand whether surgery is possible in the current state of the body, or if additional improvement with the help of procedures and drugs is required. The shelf life of tests before surgery will be considered at the end of the article.
Blood tests before surgery and for hospitalization
Almost always, blood tests are prescribed before being sent to hospital treatment and before surgery. There are a number of reasons for this, such as determining the degree of dysfunction of a particular organ, examining the general state of health, or detecting the presence of infections.
The following blood tests can be called the most often included in the list of preoperative or prehospitalization examinations: biochemical analysis, general analysis, determination of the Rhesus factor and blood group, tests for hepatitis C and B, syphilis, HIV.
If the patient has any disease or a certain condition of the body to which the medical history corresponds, tests and analyzes can tell the doctor about the need to adjust the treatment plan.
What studies are carried out for various pathologies?
If a patient has health problems that affect blood coagulation, a coagulogram may be required. This blood test is done if:
- the patient takes blood thinners
- he has bruises easily,
- there were any problems during previous operations and dental procedures with bleeding in the patient or his close relatives.
If the patient has diabetes or a predisposition to the development of this disease, he will need to undergo tests that diagnose diabetes.
If the patient is a woman of childbearing age, she may need to take a pregnancy test. It includes a blood test showing the level of hCG hormone, that is, human chorionic gonadotropin. The shelf life of tests before surgery must be respected.
Other tests and examinations
Most often, from other studies conducted in the laboratory, a general urinalysis is prescribed. In case of kidney disease, the doctor may recommend an additional analysis (urine analysis according to Nechiporenko or for sterility).
Before going to hospital for treatment, a woman may need to consult a gynecologist and take tests for genital infections, smears on the microflora from the urethra and genital tract. In this case, the shelf life of the tests before the operation is necessarily taken into account.
Before surgery on the lungs, heart, organ transplant, etc., more specific and serious tests may be required.
A specialist can assess the condition before and after surgery, as well as the effect after treatment, based on the results of laboratory tests. If not all the results from the list of tests are acceptable for the operation, the patient may need additional treatment, surgery or a more detailed examination. Based on the results of the tests performed, the attending physician can change the chosen method of anesthesia, the volume of surgical treatment or its time.
In addition to analyzes, it may be necessary to undergo instrumental studies or examinations by other specialists. Most often, this is an ultrasound, ECG, fluorography, consultation with an otorhinolaryngologist, ophthalmologist, therapist, dentist or doctors who are monitored for any concomitant illness of the patient (neurologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, etc.).
So what is the shelf life of tests before surgery? This question interests many.
What blood tests are done immediately before surgery?
Right before surgery, a blood test is usually required for several reasons.
Determination of the Rhesus factor and blood type. Any operation involves blood loss. And if complications appear during the operation, the blood loss may be too large, which will lead to the need for transfusion of red blood cells or plasma. In this case, it is important to know what the patient’s blood type and rhesus are, so as not to make a mistake during the transfusion. The group is determined by the doctor using a small amount of blood and specials. serums.
A blood test for sugar is carried out in order to monitor the level of glucose, especially when the patient has diabetes mellitus or a predisposition to this disease.
In which cases you do not need to be tested before surgery?
If the operation is with minimal risk, then the list of tests may be very short, or they will not be required at all - depending on the recommendations of the attending physician. The list of studies can be short for low-risk operations, such as a breast biopsy or surgery for small areas of the skin (when removing lipomas, papillomas, etc.), etc. With such manipulations, there is a very low risk of complications if the patient is in good health (no problems with blood coagulability, etc.).
Therefore, it is necessary to consult with a specialist about the need to pass certain tests before hospitalization or surgery.
What are the terms regulated by?
What regulates the shelf life of tests before surgery? The order of the Ministry of Health does not stipulate any exact periods for the validity of laboratory tests. But there are generally accepted requirements that should be followed.
The dynamism of changes in the state of the body obliges all research results to be carried out shortly before surgery or hospitalization. After some time, the results of many tests do not have full diagnostic value and are suitable only for assessing the patient’s health in dynamics and comparing the result after treatment with the initial data. The minimum validity of tests for preparation before surgery or hospitalization is 1-2 weeks, depending on the type of test and the time required to complete it. The doctor will give the patient all the necessary explanations about the dates that are given for all examinations and tests.
Standard analysis times
We give the shelf life of blood tests before surgery. The relevance of a clinical blood test is 10 days. Biochemical analysis of blood: glucose, urea, creatinine, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, total protein, ALT, AST - 10 days. Coagulograms: INR, APTT, fibrinogen, fibrin time - 10 days. Blood groups, Rh factor - indefinitely. RW (syphilis), HCV (hepatitis C), HBs (hepatitis B) - valid for 3 months. Shelf life of an HIV test before surgery is also 3 months.
And here are the other terms. Urinalysis - a month. ECG (electrocardiography) - a month. Fluorography or radiography of the lungs - year. Blood tumor markers : CA 125, CA 19.9. - 3 months.
Shelf life of tests before a gynecological surgery is standard. The relevance of a smear on the flora, oncocytology of the cervix is 3 months.