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L W DIGGS

Publications and source records attributed to L W DIGGS.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1958

Diagnosis of hemorrhagic diseases; evaluation of procedures. II. Preoperative tests.

Routine preoperative tests such as the determination of bleeding time and coagulation time are unnecessary and are not recommended. Rulings which require routine preoperative tests result in the adoption of inferior and unreliable time-saving methods in the laboratory. If the clinical staff insists that laboratory procedures to predict hemorrhage be performed on every patient scheduled for operation, approved methods of performing the tests should be employed. Preoperative procedures should include a personal and a family history, a careful and complete physical examination and screening laboratory tests such as urinalysis, hematocrit, leukocyte count and smear examination, including estimation of the number of thrombocytes. Special hemorrhagic studies are indicated on selected patients. These selected patients include those who have a history of abnormal bleeding, those who consider themselves "easy bleeders" or who have apprehension concerning hemorrhage at the time of operation, and those who have physical signs of hemorrhage. Special hemorrhagic studies should also be performed on patients who have diseases that are known to be associated with vascular and coagulation abnormalities, infants who have not been subjected to tests of trauma and on patients from whom a reliable history cannot be obtained. Extra precaution should be taken if operation is to be performed in hospitals or clinics that do not have adequate blood banking facilities and if the operation to be performed is one in which difficulty in hemostasis is anticipated. THE PREOPERATIVE TESTS THAT ARE INDICATED ON SELECTED PATIENTS SHOULD INCLUDE AS A MINIMUM: The thrombocyte count, determination of the bleeding time by the Ivy method, determination of the coagulation time by the multiple tube method and the observation of the clot. Where facilities are available, the hemorrhagic study should also include the plasma and serum prothrombin activity tests.

Bleeding Time↗
PubMed1957

Diagnosis of hemorrhagic diseases; evaluation of procedures. I.

Careful and complete history and physical examination are essential in the diagnosis of diseases characterized by hemorrhage and are more reliable than laboratory tests for the prediction of the tendency to bleed at the time of surgical operation. Specific questions should be asked about bleeding from various anatomical sites, allergic manifestations, diet, and exposure to poisons and chemical substances. Because hemorrhagic diseases may be hereditary, it is necessary to obtain a family history. If there is a personal or family history of abnormal bleeding, the examiner should obtain exact details about the events immediately preceding the bleeding episodes, the character and duration of the hemorrhage and the response to therapy. The history is particularly important in the case of patients who are to have operation. Failure to obtain a history of past bleeding episodes may be catastrophic. In patients with bleeding tendencies who require operation, the history is valuable in predicting the severity of the bleeding. Physical examination including examination of retina, breast and pelvic organs will often detect evidence of lesions that are helpful in the diagnosis of the primary diseases of which the hemorrhage is a manifestation. The location, distribution, character and number of hemorrhagic lesions are of value in diagnosis and in prognosis.

Breast↗