Introduction

Congestion and unnecessary tests in Emergency Departments are a serious problem, leading to long waiting times and delays in providing care.

Aim of the research

In the present study, the necessity of routine laboratory tests that were ordered for trauma patients in an Emergency Department are evaluated.

Material and methods

Patients’ physical and clinical condition along with frequency and results of the routine tests requested were recorded. All patients were followed up to the final diagnosis. All tests were analysed in the central and emergency laboratory of the hospital.

Results

A total of 340 cases completed this descriptive-cross sectional study, with a mean age of 32.77 ±12.47 years, and 71.8% were male. The most common type of trauma was car occupant (41.8%), the most common injured body region was lower extremity (36.88%), the most common clinical finding was pain (92.4%), and the most common ordered routine test was CBC; the only statistically significant relationship was between swelling (clinical finding) and biochemistry results (p = 0.034). The final diagnosis in 150 (44.1%) cases was fracture. The mean admission time was 25.09 ±8.79 h, mean hospitalisation time was 3.00 ±2.05 days, and the relationship between final diagnosis and lab results was not statistically significant.

Conclusions

The findings revealed that the most frequently ordered lab tests in patients presented to our Emergency Department with major trauma is CBC, followed by PT and PTT. In addition, routine laboratory tests are not targeted; therefore, reducing unnecessary ordered lab tests may reduce health costs.