What Medications Should Patients Take Before Surgery?
What Medications Should Patients Take Before Surgery?
Most medications should be taken on the patient’s usual schedule the day before the scheduled procedure. Medications normally taken in the morning should be taken before the patient arrives, and can be taken with enough water to comfortably swallow pills.
Antihypertensive medications
Nearly all the medications commonly used for general anesthesia and sedation have the effect of lowering blood pressure and reducing sympathetic tone; some of them depress cardiac function as well. Common medications include propofol, fentanyl, midazolam, and the inhaled fluorinated ethers such as sevoflurane and desflurane. For this reason, caution should be used in telling patients to take all antihypertensive medications on the morning of surgery, as significant hypotension may result during anesthesia.
- Beta blockers: in 2014 advises that patients who are already on beta blockers should continue to take them during the perioperative period. However, initiating beta blockade shortly before noncardiac surgery was associated with fewer nonfatal MIs but a higher rate of stroke, death, hypotension, and bradycardia. We advise patients to take their usual dose of a beta blocker on the morning of surgery.
- ARBs and ACE inhibitors: A recent found that patients who did not take ARBs or ACE inhibitors in the 24 hours before noncardiac surgery were less likely to suffer intraoperative hypotension and the primary composite outcome of all-cause death, stroke, or myocardial injury. Unless a patient’s hypertension is very difficult to control, it may be best to withhold ARBs and ACE inhibitors within 12-24 hours of a procedure under anesthesia.
- Diuretics: If the patient is taking a diuretic for treatment of hypertension, consider holding the diuretic on the morning of surgery in order to avoid dehydration while the patient is NPO. However, if the patient has severe liver disease or congestive heart failure, it may be best to continue diuretic therapy.
Anticoagulants and antiplatelet therapy
The surgeon or the physician performing the procedure often requests that anticoagulants or antiplatelet therapy be discontinued for several days to a week in advance of surgery. If you feel that it is not in your patient’s best interest to hold these medications, it is best to discuss this with the surgeon in advance.
Often, low-dose aspirin can be continued throughout the perioperative period without increasing the risk of bleeding for many routine procedures, and it may protect the patency of drug-eluting coronary stents. However, in some circumstances such as intracranial surgery, the risk of bleeding may be unacceptable.
In a , ACC/AHA guidelines advise: “Decisions about the timing of surgery and whether to discontinue DAPT after coronary stent implantation are best individualized. Such decisions involve weighing the particular surgical procedure and the risks of delaying the procedure, the risks of ischemia and stent thrombosis, and the risk and consequences of bleeding. Given the complexity of these considerations, decisions are best determined by a consensus of the surgeon, anesthesiologist, cardiologist, and patient.”
Pain medications
Patients who are on opioid treatment for acute or chronic pain may be advised to take their medications on the day of their procedure. Fentanyl patches may be used per the patient's routine; it is helpful for the patient or family to make a note of the time and date of placement, and inform the anesthesia team.
Medications for diabetes and weight loss
The American Society of Anesthesiologists has published for patients who take Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonists. These medications can effect gastric emptying and can increase the risk of aspiration during anesthesia. Patients on daily dosing should hold their medication on the day of the procedure. Patients on weekly dosing should hold their medications for at least 7 days prior to the procedure and discuss hyperglycemic management with the prescribing provider if these medications are prescribed for diabetes.
Patients who take SGLT-2 inhibitors are at risk of developing euglycemic ketoacidosis while NPO. After reviewing several case reports, the FDA issued a advising health care professionals to consider stopping canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin at least three days before, and ertugliflozin at least four days before scheduled surgery. There have been no case reports of ketoacidosis in patients taking these medications for heart failure. Patients who take these medications for diabetes, should discuss hyperglycemic management with the prescribing provider before holding them preoperatively.