Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In recent years the main reason of the increase in the use of laboratory services is unnecessary laboratory testing. We aimed to investigate the unnecessary laboratory testing for fPSA test through tPSA test by examining the tPSA and fPSA tests which were ordered at our hospital.

METHODS

We evaluated the tPSA and fPSA tests retrospectively which were ordered at our hospital between 01.01.2011 and 31.12.2015. fPSA tests which were ordered with tPSA tests that values of less than 4 ng/ml or greater than 10 ng/ml at the first test ordering from the patient were accepted as inappropriate initial testing. We investigated the test ordered departments and the distribution by years.

RESULTS

We determined that 9759 of fPSA tests (78.8%) were unnecessary laboratory testing. When evaluated according to the departments we determined that the highest unnecessary laboratory testing within the policinics was ordered by nuclear medicine with 96.5%. The highest unnecessary laboratory testing within the services was ordered by neurology with 90.6%.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Although to the restrictions by the laboratory test commission about the ordering of PSA tests in 2015, it was not seen statistically significant change for the unnecessary laboratory testing rate (p>0.05). The preventions such as giving information to clinicians about the cost of laboratory tests, increasing of the clinician education programs, developing and using of diagnostic algorithms for test ordering may be effective in order to reducing unnecessary laboratory testing.