A scoping review of point-of-care blood testing to assess utility in ambulatory general surgery

INTRODUCTION: Ambulatory care is a national priority in the UK. Blood results play a crucial role in safe ambulatory management, but create significant time delays. Point-of-care blood testing (POCBT) could improve delivery of effective ambulatory care in General Surgery (GS). This scoping review summarises published literature on use of POCBT in hospital settings. METHODS: Systematic searches (MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare and CINAHL, from inception to January 2025) identified published studies reporting on POCBT in adult hospital settings. Searches were limited to common blood tests used for emergency GS decision-making. Abstracts and full texts were screened independently by two authors against pre-agreed eligibility criteria. Data extraction included general study and participant characteristics, details of point-of-care devices used, and outcomes, grouped into: Reliability and Accuracy, Clinical and Patient Impact, Staff Impact, and Financial Impact. FINDINGS: =3) identified a positive impact of POCBT on overall cost savings. CONCLUSIONS: POCBT could deliver timely, reliable blood results and be of benefit in ambulatory GS settings. A prospective pilot study may be the next appropriate step.