Abstract
The impact of developing guidelines for laboratory testing in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was examined. Targeted blood tests were recorded on fifty cardiac surgery and fifty general intensive care patients retrospectively. Following the introduction of guidelines, the study was repeated with prospective data collection. Comparison of the samples before and after the intervention showed a 25.9% reduction in all blood tests and a 17.1% reduction in arterial blood gases in the post cardiac surgery group. In general ICU patients, the drop in all tests was 16.6% and in arterial blood gases 21.9%. The cost savings from the cardiac surgery sample was N.Z.$3,637 and general ICU N.Z.$3,166, giving a sum total of N.Z.$6,803 in 100 patients. The potential cost savings for the annual admissions of 1,200 patients is N.Z.$81,636. This study shows that written guidelines can bring about major cost reduction in the short-term.