Loading...
The estimated annual U.S. expenditure for initial screening tests at level I trauma centers was US$712 million in 1995. To determine the effectiveness and costs of routine screening tests in trauma patients, a panel of trauma surgeons retrospectively reviewed the charts of consecutive patients who presented to a single community teaching hospital’s level II trauma center during a 3-month period in 2006. The surgeons assessed the percentage of abnormal tests, the clinical significance of test results, and charges to the patient or payer. Clinical significance was defined as a result that was clearly abnormal or that led to a change in management (e.g., a hematocrit that led to a transfusion or an abnormal amylase that led to clinical interve…