Anesthesia and analgesia
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2020
ReviewA Comprehensive Update on Aspirin Management During Noncardiac Surgery.
Aspirin is considered critical lifelong therapy for patients with established cardiovascular (CV) disease (including coronary artery, cerebrovascular, and peripheral arterial diseases) and is consequently one of the most widely used medications worldwide. However, the indications for aspirin use continue to evolve and recent trials question its efficacy for primary prevention. Although one third of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery and at risk for a major adverse CV event receive aspirin perioperatively, uncertainty still exists about how aspirin should be optimally managed in this context, and significant practice variability remains. ⋯ The guidance on decision-making with regard to perioperative aspirin cessation or continuation using currently available clinical data from studies in high-risk patients along with nonclinical aspirin studies is conflicting and does not enable a simplified or unified answer. However, pertinent guidelines on CV disease management provide a basic framework for aspirin management, and large trial findings provide some insight into the safety of perioperative aspirin cessation in some contexts, although uncertainty on perioperative aspirin still exists. This review provides an evidence-based update on perioperative aspirin management in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery with a focus on recommendations for perioperative clinicians on continuing versus holding aspirin during this context.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2020
Bleeding After Musculoskeletal Surgery in Hospitals That Switched From Hydroxyethyl Starch to Albumin Following a Food and Drug Administration Warning.
While US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warnings are common, their impact on perioperative outcomes is unclear. Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is associated with increased bleeding and kidney injury in patients with sepsis, leading to an FDA black box warning in 2013. Among patients undergoing musculoskeletal surgery in a subset of hospitals where colloid use changed from HES to albumin following the FDA warning, we examined the rate of major perioperative bleeding post- versus pre-FDA warning. ⋯ We identified a subset of hospitals where colloid use for musculoskeletal surgery changed following a 2013 FDA black box warning regarding HES use in sepsis. Among patients undergoing musculoskeletal surgery at these "switcher" hospitals, there was no significant decrease in the rate of major perioperative bleeding following the warning, possibly due to incomplete practice change. Evaluation of the impact of systemic changes in health care may contribute to the understanding of patient outcomes in perioperative medicine.