[Aspirin withdrawal in high risk cardiac patients before the operation of total colectomy with resection of ileum--case report].

Coronary artery disease is one of the risk factors for myocardial infarction and it is present in 40% of patients who are undergoing noncardiac surgery. Despite evidence of the benefit of the antiplatelet therapy in patients at risk of cardiac complications, aspirin treatment is often discontinued before surgery due to the risk of perioperative bleeding. In many studies and meta-analysis it is shown that aspirin withdrawal in perioperative period was associated with three-fold higher risk of major adverse cardiac events. Perioperative continuation of aspirin increase the rate of bleeding by 1.5, but it doesn't increase the level of the severity of bleeding complications. In perioperative periode aspirin is discontinued only if it is estimated that the bleeding risk is higher than the risk of thrombosis. In the paper authors present a case report of patient who developed a perioperative myocardial in-farction as a consequence of aspirin withdrawal before total colectomy.

Perioperative myocardial ischemia in coronary artery disease patients undergoing abdominal nonvascular surgery.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of perioperative myocardial ischemia (PMI) is the highest in patients who have coronary artery disease, and it is the best predictor of intrahospital morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of PMI in patients who have coronary artery disease and are undergoing abdominal nonvascular surgery. METHODS: A prospective, observational, clinical study of 111 consecutive patients with angiographically verified coronary artery disease, scheduled for open abdominal nonvascular surgery, was conducted. Patients received general anesthesia and were monitored by continuous electrocardiogram during surgery and immediately postsurgery (72 h period) in the intensive care unit at the University Clinical Center (Belgrade, Serbia). All of the patients had 12-lead electrocardiography immediately after the surgery, on postoperative days 1, 2 and 7, and one day before discharge from hospital. The patients were monitored until the 30th postoperative day. RESULTS: A total of 24 predictors for PMI were analyzed. The Pearson's chi(2) test and a binomial logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis. A significant difference in the incidence of PMI was found in the coronary artery disease patients with an associated risk factor (14 of 24 risk factors) compared with those without the risk factor. In particular, a highly significant difference in the incidence of PMI was found in coronary artery disease patients with angina pectoris, compared with those without angina pectoris. CONCLUSION: Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis, angina pectoris was an independent predictor of PMI.

Coronary artery revascularization prior to abdominal nonvascular surgery.

BACKGROUND: Does preoperative revascularization of the myocardium reduce cardiac risk in noncardiac surgery? The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of preoperative cardioprotection by coronary artery revascularization in abdominal nonvascular surgery under general anesthesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The observational clinical study included 111 consecutive patients with angiographically verified coronary artery disease. Two stratification groups of patients were compared, those with coronary artery revascularization (34 patients, 30.6%) and those without coronary artery revascularization (77 patients, 64.9%), in relation to frequency of perioperative cardiac complications. The patients were followed up until the 30th postoperative day. During operation and in the following 72 postoperative hours, the patients were monitored by continuous ST-T segment recording. Twelve-lead electrocardiography was performed immediately after surgery and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 7 as well as 1 day before discharge. Serum troponin T levels were controlled at 6, 24, and 96 h postoperatively. RESULTS: The number of patients with major cardiac complications was 0 (0.0%, n=34) in the revascularized myocardium group and 10 (12.9%, n=77) in the nonrevascularized myocardium group (P<.05). Three patients in the nonrevascularized myocardium group died of acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and malignant arrhythmias, respectively, with severe coronary artery stenosis verified angiographically. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative cardioprotection by coronary artery revascularization significantly reduces morbidity and mortality in patients who have undergone abdominal nonvascular surgery. Patients with severe coronary artery stenosis and indication for coronary artery revascularization independently of noncardiac surgery should first undergo cardiosurgical intervention prior to elective abdominal nonvascular surgery.