• W A van Klei, K G Moons, C L Rutten, J T Knape, and D E Grobbee.
• Universitair Medisch Centrum, GA Utrecht.
• Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2000 Jul 15;144(29):1389-93.

AbstractThe report of the Netherlands Health Council 'Preoperatief onderzoek; een herijking van uitgangspunten' recommends that the health status of patients aged 16-39 years can be investigated preoperatively by the anaesthesiologist using a short questionnaire (6 questions). However, it is not clear whether such an abbreviated preoperative investigation will be informative enough for a safe and balanced anaesthesiologic management. An overview of relevant literature on the subject of preoperative investigation indicates that the preoperative physical status of patients as reflected by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification is a predictor of perioperative complications. Patients can be classified accordingly on the basis of an extended history and physical examination only: any routine additional investigation, such as ECG, chest X-ray or laboratory investigations, seem superfluous. Only blood group, rhesus factor and the presence of irregular antibodies may need to be determined if indicated by the kind of surgery. Currently, however, there is not sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the short questionnaire of the Netherlands Health Council is informative enough.

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