Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine
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Elderly patients pose unique challenges perioperatively. They are more likely than younger surgical patients to be mentally and physically compromised at baseline, which increases the risk of delirium and postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Postoperative cognitive risk can be predicted, however, and effective strategies exist to reduce this risk. ⋯ General recommendations for the perioperative care of elderly patients include avoiding drugs that raise the risk of delirium, ensuring adequate caloric and fluid intake, getting the patient out of bed and into physical therapy as soon as possible, and early planning for discharge. An elderly patient's postoperative cognitive risk and its impact on quality of life should be factored into the decision whether to undergo surgery. Family conferences are recommended to address the many questions and challenges that surgery in an elderly person can pose.
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Perioperative management of patients on warfarin or antiplatelet therapy involves assessing and balancing individual risks for thromboembolism and bleeding. Discontinuing anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy is usually necessary for major surgery but increases the risk of thrombotic events. ⋯ The timing of warfarin withdrawal and timing of the preoperative and postoperative components of bridge therapy are critical to balancing these risks. Perioperative management of antiplatelet therapy requires special care in patients with coronary stents; the timing of surgery relative to stent placement dictates management in these patients.
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Three directors of dedicated preoperative assessment clinics share their experience in setting up and running their programs. Standardizing and centralizing all or part of the preoperative evaluation process--obtaining patient records; the history and physical examination; the surgical, anesthesiology, and nursing assessments; ordering tests; and documentation and billing--increases efficiency. The savings achieved from minimizing redundancy, avoiding surgery delays and cancellations, and improved reimbursement coding offset the increased costs of setting up and running the clinic.
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Guidelines on perioperative management of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery recommend the use of prophylactic perioperative beta-blockers in high-risk patients who are not already taking them, and their continuance in patients on chronic beta-blockade prior to surgery. These recommendations were challenged recently by results of the Perioperative Ischemic Evaluation (POISE), a large randomized trial of extended-release metoprolol succinate started immediately before noncardiac surgery in patients at high risk for atherosclerotic disease. While metoprolol significantly reduced myocardial infarctions relative to placebo in POISE, it also was associated with significant excesses of both stroke and mortality. ⋯ P. J. Devereaux (co-principal investigator of POISE).
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Case Reports
Case studies in perioperative management: challenges, controversies, and common ground.
This collection of case studies is designed to illustrate challenging and controversial aspects of perioperative medicine. The authors guide readers through four case narratives punctuated by practical multiple-choice questions followed by the authors' commentary on the evidence supporting various answer choices and related considerations. The objective is to examine issues and key evidence that should inform the decision-making process in important aspects of perioperative management.