Perioperative Management of Antiplatelet and Anticoagulant Therapy in Patients Undergoing Interventional Techniques: 2024 Updated Guidelines from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP).

BACKGROUND: The frequency of performance of interventional techniques in chronic pain patients receiving anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy continues to increase. Understanding the importance of continuing chronic anticoagulant therapy, the need for interventional techniques, and determining the duration and discontinuation or temporary suspension of anticoagulation is crucial to avoiding devastating complications, primarily when neuraxial procedures are performed. Anticoagulants and antiplatelets target the clotting system, increasing the bleeding risk. However, discontinuation of anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs exposes patients to thrombosis risk, which can lead to significant morbidity and mortality, especially in those with coronary artery or cerebrovascular disease. These guidelines summarize the current peer reviewed literature and develop consensus-based guidelines based on the best evidence synthesis for patients receiving anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy during interventional procedures. STUDY DESIGN: Review of the literature and development of guidelines based on best evidence synthesis. OBJECTIVES: To provide a current and concise appraisal of the literature regarding the assessment of bleeding and thrombosis risk during interventional techniques for patients taking anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet medications. METHODS: Development of consensus guidelines based on best evidence synthesis included review of the literature on bleeding risks during interventional pain procedures, practice patterns, and perioperative management of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy. A multidisciplinary panel of experts developed methodology, risk stratification based on best evidence synthesis, and management of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy. It also included risk of cessation of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy based on a multitude of factors. Multiple data sources on bleeding risk, practice patterns, risk of thrombosis, and perioperative management of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy were identified. The relevant literature was identified through searches of multiple databases from 1966 through 2023. In the development of consensus statements and guidelines, we used a modified Delphi technique, which has been described to minimize bias related to group interactions. Panelists without a primary conflict of interest voted on approving specific guideline statements. Each panelist could suggest edits to the guideline statement wording and could suggest additional qualifying remarks or comments as to the implementation of the guideline in clinical practice to achieve consensus and for inclusion in the final guidelines, each guideline statement required at least 80% agreement among eligible panel members without primary conflict of interest. RESULTS: A total of 34 authors participated in the development of these guidelines. Of these, 29 participated in the voting process. A total of 20 recommendations were developed. Overall, 100% acceptance was obtained for 16 of 20 items. Total items were reduced to 18 with second and third round voting. The final results were 100% acceptance for 16 items (89%). There was disagreement for 2 statements (statements 6 and 7) and recommendations by 3 authors. These remaining 2 items had an acceptance of 94% and 89%. The disagreement and dissent were by Byron J. Schneider, MD, with recommendation that all transforaminals be classified into low risk, whereas Sanjeeva Gupta, MD, desired all transforaminals to be in intermediate risk. The second disagreement was related to Vivekanand A. Manocha, MD, recommending that cervical and thoracic transforaminal to be high risk procedures.Thus, with appropriate literature review, consensus-based statements were developed for the perioperative management of patients receiving anticoagulants and antiplatelets These included the following: estimation of the thromboembolic risk, estimation of bleeding risk, and determination of the timing of restarting of anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy.Risk stratification was provided classifying the interventional techniques into three categories of low risk, moderate or intermediate risk, and high risk. Further, on multiple occasions in low risk and moderate or intermediate risk categories, recommendations were provided against cessation of anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. LIMITATIONS: The continued paucity of literature with discordant recommendations. CONCLUSION: Based on the review of available literature, published clinical guidelines, and recommendations, a multidisciplinary panel of experts presented guidelines in managing interventional techniques in patients on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy in the perioperative period. These guidelines provide a comprehensive assessment of classification of risk, appropriate recommendations, and recommendations based on the best available evidence.

Enhanced Recovery After Gender-Affirming Surgery.

The adoption of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in multiple surgical disciplines has revolutionized perioperative care, demonstrating reduced complications and shorter hospital stays across surgical specialties. ERAS protocols have increasingly been incorporated in plastic surgery, yet a notable gap in the literature on ERAS for gender-affirming surgery (GAS) still exists. A scoping review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies on ERAS protocols in GAS. The aim of this review was to assess the current status of ERAS adoption in GAS, evaluate its impact on perioperative care, and provide recommendations for future research and clinical practice. While there is an overall scarcity of evidence-based ERAS protocols across GAS, published studies on the application of ERAS in GAS have demonstrated promising early outcomes and illustrate an area for further investigation and innovation in plastic surgery.

[Perioperative Immunotherapy for Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Current Evidence and New Standard of Care]. / Perioperative Immuntherapie beim operablen Lungenkarzinom: aktuelle Studienlage und neue Therapiestandards.

Immunotherapy has drastically changed the treatment of lung cancer not only in systemic disease but also in the perioperative setting in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. In particular, the neoadjuvant and perioperative therapy regimes of the CheckMate 816 and KEYNOTE-671 studies as well as the adjuvant therapy according to the IMPower010 and the PEARLS/KEYNOTE-091 protocols have already been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of selected cases. Other therapy protocols and combination therapies with varying drug classes and therapy modalities are currently being examined for their effectiveness and tolerance. The new treatment landscape creates new opportunities but also challenges for the treating disciplines. This article will focus on the current evidence for perioperative immunotherapy for resectable lung cancer and the resulting therapy standards, especially with regard to patient selection for both neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy, as well as current research efforts.

[Chinese Expert Consensus on Perioperative Pulmonary Rehabilitation Training 
for Lung Cancer].

Perioperative pulmonary rehabilitation may effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and improve the quality of life of lung cancer patients and its clinical application value in lung cancer patients has been widely recognized. However, there is still no international consensus or guideline for pulmonary rehabilitation regimen, lacking standardized criteria when pulmonary rehabilitation applied in perioperative clinical practice for lung cancer. The consensus provides implementation regimen and process of pulmonary rehabilitation, aiming to promote the reasonable and standardized application of perioperative pulmonary rehabilitation training in clinical practice, sequentially enable patients to maximize benefits from the rehabilitation.
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A Perioperative Quality Improvement Program for Cesarean Delivery in Ethiopia: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Infections and complications following cesarean delivery are a significant source of maternal mortality in Ethiopia. Objective: To study the effectiveness of a program to strengthen compliance with perioperative standards and reduce postoperative complications following cesarean delivery. Design, Setting, and Participants: This stepped-wedge cluster randomized clinical trial included patients undergoing cesarean delivery from August 24, 2021, to January 31, 2023, at 9 hospitals organized into 5 clusters in Ethiopia. Intervention: Clean Cut, a multimodal surgical quality improvement program that includes process-mapping 6 perioperative standards and creating site-specific, systems-level improvements. The control period was the period before implementation of the intervention. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was surgical site infection rate, and secondary end points were maternal mortality and perinatal mortality and a composite outcome of infections and both mortality outcomes. All were assessed at 30 days postoperatively in the intervention and control groups, adjusting for clustering and demographics. Compliance with standards and the relationship between compliance and outcomes were also compared between the 2 arms. Results: Among 9755 women undergoing cesarean delivery, 5099 deliveries (52.3%) occurred during the control period (2722 emergency cases [53.4%]) and 4656 (47.7%) during the intervention period (2346 emergency cases [50.4%]). Mean (SD) patient age was 27.04 (0.05) years. Thirty-day follow-up was completed for 5153 patients (52.8%). No significant reduction in infection rates was detected after the intervention (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.55-1.27; P = .40). Intraoperative infection prevention standards improved significantly in the intervention arm vs control arm for compliance with at least 5 of the 6 standards (odds ratio [OR], 2.95; 95% CI, 2.40-3.62; P < .001). Regardless of trial arm, high compliance was associated with reduced odds of maternal (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.11-0.93; P = .04) and perinatal (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47-0.89; P = .008) mortality. Conclusions and Relevance: In this stepped-wedge cluster randomized clinical trial of patients undergoing cesarean delivery, no significant reductions in surgical site infections were observed. However, compliance with perioperative standards improved following the intervention. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04812522; Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry Identifier: PACTR202108717887402.

Reviewing Ethical Guidelines for the Care of Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders after 30 Years: Rethinking Our Approach at a Time of Transition.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) opposes automatic reversal of do-not-resuscitate orders during the perioperative period, instead advocating for a goal-directed approach that aligns decision-making with patients' priorities and clinical circumstances. Implementation of ASA guidelines continues to face significant barriers including time constraints, lack of longitudinal relationships with patients, and difficulty translating goal-focused discussion into concrete clinical plans. These challenges mirror those of advance care planning more generally, suggesting a need for novel frameworks for serious illness communication and patient-centered decision-making. This review considers ASA guidelines in the context of ongoing transitions to serious illness communication and increasingly multidisciplinary perioperative care. It aims to provide practical guidance for the practicing anesthesiologist while also acknowledging the complexity of decision-making, considering limitations inherent to anesthesiologists' role, and outlining a need to conceptualize delivery of ethically informed care as a collaborative, multidisciplinary endeavor.

[Consensus on topical issues of multidisciplinary management of elderly patients with frailty in planned surgical care delivery]. / Konsensus po aktual'nym voprosam mul'tidistsiplinarnogo vedeniya pozhilykh patsientov so starcheskoi asteniei pri okazanii planovoi khirurgicheskoi pomoshchi.

The number of elderly and senile patients who are in need of surgical care delivery is growing steadily year over year. This category of patients is characterized by comorbidity, polypragmasy and high prevalence of geriatric syndromes including loss of autonomy, malnutrition and cognitive impairments that increase the risk of developing perioperative complications. Management of these patients at all stages requires a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. Nevertheless, there is no uniform understanding of solution of this problem at present. Determination of consensus on certain issues using the Delphi method will allow to gather and unite expert opinions. In this regard, the working group formulated the main points of management of elderly and senile patients before, during and after surgical treatment and conducted a cross-sectional analysis of experts' opinions.

Addressing inequalities in the perioperative care for older adults.

Older adults constitute a large proportion of patients undergoing surgery and present with complexity, predisposing them to adverse postoperative outcomes. Inequalities exist in the provision of surgical care across the United Kingdom evidenced by increased waiting times in areas of social deprivation, a disparity in the provision of surgical care across geographic locations as well as a variation in the medical management of comorbidities in surgical patients. Addressing inequalities in the delivery of perioperative care for older adults necessitates a multi-faceted approach. It requires implementation of an evidence-based approach to optimisation of older surgical adults using Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and optimisation methodology at scale, development of an age-attuned, flexible, transdisciplinary workforce, a restructuring of funding to commission services addressing the needs of the older surgical population and a change in culture and professional and public understanding of the needs of the older surgical patient.

Methodological quality of research on perioperative immunomodulatory supplementation in oncological gastrointestinal tract surgery: a meta-research protocol.

INTRODUCTION: One of the topics that show differences of opinion in the scientific field of nutrition is the recommendation by clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) of an immunomodulatory diet with arginine, nucleotides and omega-3 for individuals diagnosed with cancer undergoing major surgery. The quality of the recommendations is directly related to credibility, transparency and rigour in their development, but also to the quality of the studies published and available for inclusion in the recommendation, such as systematic reviews (SRs) and randomised clinical trials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the methodological quality of the recommendation of perioperative immunomodulatory supplementation for individuals with gastrointestinal and head and neck cancer, the CPGs, and the studies that support the recommendations. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a systematic search for CPGs. Recommendations for nutritional supplementation with immunomodulatory substrates for individuals undergoing major oncological surgery will be analysed using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation-Recommendations Excellence tool. CPGs will be analysed using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II tool. The SRs cited in the recommendations will be analysed using the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews II tool and additional questions regarding heterogeneity in reviews. The clinical trials cited in the SRs and in the guideline recommendations (when applicable) will be analysed according to questions regarding heterogeneity in trials. The results will be presented in tables or charts using descriptive analyses. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results of this study will be disseminated through relevant conferences and peer-reviewed journals. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 10.17605/OSF.IO/X2GYT.