Test-request patterns for clinical chemistry in a British and a Canadian renal dialysis unit.

We recorded, during four months, the total number of routine clinical chemistry tests requested for patients with end-stage renal failure who were on regular maintenance hemodialysis during the study: 20 in the Renal Dialysis Unit of a British and 20 in a Canadian teaching hospital. The pattern of tests ordered was substantially the same in each unit, but the frequency of testing was not. The total number of tests (and tests per patient per month) was 1616 (20.2) for the British and 6939 (86.7) for the Canadian unit (significant at p less than 0.001). This study suggests a significant difference between the two countries in the utilization of laboratory services, and supports our earlier findings on total clinical chemical workloads in hospitals.