• Olabisi Lane, Vats Ambai, Arjun Bakshi, and Sudheer Potru.
• Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA olabisi.lane@emory.edu.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2024 Sep 2; 49 (9): 621627621-627.

AbstractExcessive alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD) increase the risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Aspiration, malnutrition, coagulopathies, seizures, and hemodynamic alterations are only a few of the major concerns related to acute alcohol intoxication and AUD. There are also numerous physiological effects, changes in medication metabolism and pharmacology, and adverse events related to chronic alcohol consumption. These are all important considerations for the anesthesiologist in the perioperative management of a patient with AUD. Pain perception and thresholds are altered in patients with acute and chronic alcohol use. Medications used to manage AUD symptoms, particularly naltrexone, can have significant perioperative implications. Patients on naltrexone who continue or stop this medication in the perioperative period are at an increased risk for undertreated pain or substance use relapse. This review highlights key considerations for the anesthesiologist and pain physician in the perioperative management of patients with active AUD (or those in recovery). It discusses the effects of acute and chronic alcohol use on pain perception and thresholds, provides guidance on the perioperative management of naltrexone and low-dose naltrexone, and reviews a multimodal approach to pain management.© American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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