Utilisation of the pre‐operative ECG

Abstract

The utilisation of the pre‐operative ECG in patients undergoing routine surgery was investigated in 354 adult patients over a 2‐week period. Sixty‐four percent of patients had an ECG pre‐operatively. An ECG was not performed in 17% of patients who, current hospital policy suggests, should have had one. In contrast, an ECG was performed in 33% of patients who, hospital policy suggests, have no need of one (all of which were normal), which represented 18% of the total number of pre‐operative ECGs performed. In 62% of patients with known cardiac disease, and 44% of patients with strong risk factors for ischaemic heart disease (in the absence of known disease) the ECG was abnormal. This compares with only 7% of patients aged over 50 with no risk factors in whom the ECG was abnormal. These findings suggest that there is room for improvement in the utilisation of the pre‐operative ECG, which may have cost implications. Copyright © 1995, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved