What do they test for when you go for pre-op blood testing?

Question

sugar? cholesterol? liver functions? thyroid?

Answer 1

Typically they check for CBC (complete blood count), sometimes coagulation studies to see that your blood clots appropriately. Sometimes a basic metabolic panel that looks at electrolytes and renal function.

Unless you were having Thyroid surgery they would not be checking that. Cholesterol is not part of pre-op testing.

Answer 2

It depends on what surgery you're having, and what risks you have. And a lot of doctors order their own panels without any particular justification.

For minor surgery in a young, healthy person, no tests at all are required. It's been a long time since anybody except my mother and her pals accused me of being young, and I recently had minor surgery that required nothing.

If the surgery is enough that significant blood loss is a real consideration, a CBC and perhaps blood typing may be done.

It isn't a blood test, but an EKG is normally done on people whose age is high enough to put them at risk for heart disease.

There are also a lot of people at risk for fluid and electrolyte abnormalities: those with GI fluid loss, even people taking antihypertensive medications. Diabetics, of course, get the blood sugar.

Also, tests are generally not ordered  "a la carte." One is likely to get a basic metabolic profile, consisting of blood sugar, electrolytes, BUN and creatinine, simply because it's the cheapest and easiest way to get a test or two that you're really interested in.

Liver functions, thyroid function, and cholesterol wouldn't be standard pre-op orders, but if you have a problem in one of those areas and are getting stuck anyway......