Should nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs be stopped before elective surgery?
Connelly, C.S.; Panush, R.S.
Archives of Internal Medicine 151(10): 1963-1966
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-9926 PMID: 1929684 Document Number: 380339
Purpose: To determine if perioperative use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) might be associated with increased postoperative morbidity. Patients and Methods: Records from 165 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty from 1984 and 1987 were reviewed. Patients taking NSAIDs at hospital admission were compared with those who were not. Results: Patients taking NSAIDs had more postoperative bleeding complications (gastrointestinal tract bleeding and/or hypotension) than did patients not taking those agents. Complications were more frequent in patients using NSAIDs with half-lives longer than 6 hours. Conclusion: Patients undergoing elective surgery should stop taking NSAIDs in time to allow elimination the drug; those patients who need to take these agents perioperatively should used drugs with short half-lives.