Antiplatelet agents in perioperative noncardiac surgeries: to maintain or to suspend? (original) (raw)

When prescribing antiplatelet agents, physicians face the challenge of protecting patients from thromboembolic events without inducing bleeding damage. However, especially in the perioperative period, the use of these medications requires a carefully balanced assessment of their risks and benefits. To conduct a systematic review to check whether the antiplatelet agent is to be maintained or suspended in the perioperative period of noncardiac surgeries. A comprehensive literature search using Science Direct, Scopus, MEDLINE-PubMed, and Web of Science was undertaken. Clinical trials of noncardiac surgeries with patients taking regular anti-platelet therapy, published between 2013 and 2018. A total of 1,302 studies were initially identified, with only four meeting the inclusion criteria. The selected studies were conducted in different countries such as, including India (2), Serbia (1), and the USA (1). The age group was similar in all studies, from 61 to 75 years. The most frequent su...