“Too much information with little meaning,” relevance of preoperative laboratory testing in elective oral and maxillofacial surgeries: A systematic integrative review

AIM: In the recent times due to accessibility of tools and advent of technology advising battery of laboratory tests prior to any electeve surgical procedure has become a norm. This review aims at investigating relevance of such tests in healthy patients undergoing routine elective oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures. METHODS: Various search engines were thoroughly searched to identify relevant literature. The population of interest was asymptomatic adults above 18 years of age undergoing elective surgery. RESULTS: The preoperative tests of interest for the current study included complete blood count, coagulation tests, biochemistry, and chest X-rays. An algorithm for preoperative tests has been proposed. CONCLUSION: We conclude that advising battery of routine tests in such patients leads to further delays and rise in overall cost of the surgery.