Langenbeck's archives of surgery
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Langenbecks Arch Surg · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA randomised controlled pilot trial to evaluate and optimize the use of anti-platelet agents in the perioperative management in patients undergoing general and abdominal surgery--the APAP trial (ISRCTN45810007).
Surgeons are increasingly confronted by patients on long-term low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). However, owing to a lack of evidence-based data, a widely accepted consensus on the perioperative management of these patients in the setting of non-cardiac surgery has not yet been reached. Primary objective was to evaluate the safety of continuous versus discontinuous use of ASA in the perioperative period in elective general or abdominal surgery. ⋯ Perioperative intake of ASA does not seem to influence the incidence of severe bleeding in non-high-risk patients undergoing elective general or abdominal surgery. Further, adequately powered trials are required to confirm the findings of this study.