Aspirin interruption before neurosurgical interventions: A controversial problem.

Aspirin is widely used for primary or secondary prevention of ischemic events. At the same time, chronic aspirin consumption can affect blood clot formation during surgical intervention and increase intraoperative blood loss. This is especially important for high-risk surgery, including neurosurgery. Current European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend aspirin interruption for at least 7 d before neurosurgical intervention, but this suggestion is not supported by clinical evidence. This narrative review presents evidence that challenges the necessity for aspirin interruption in neurosurgical patients, describes options for aspirin effect monitoring and the clinical implication of these methods, and summarizes current clinical data on bleeding risk associated with chronic aspirin therapy in neurosurgical patients, including brain tumor surgery, cerebrovascular procedures, and spinal surgery.

Preoperative Risk Assessment Before Elective Craniotomy: Are Aspirin, Arrhythmias, Deep Venous Thromboses, and Hyperglycemia Contraindications to Surgery?

OBJECTIVE: Perioperative risk assessment and stratification before craniotomy is necessary to identify and optimize modifiable risk factors. Due to the high costs of diagnostic testing and concerns for delaying surgery, some have questioned whether and when surgery delays are warranted and supported by the current body of literature. The objective of this scoping review was to evaluate the available evidence on the prognostic value of preoperative risk assessment before anesthesia for elective craniotomy. METHODS: In this scoping review, we reviewed 156 papers that assess preoperative risk assessment before elective craniotomy, of which 27 papers were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: There is little high-quality evidence to suggest significant risk reduction when 4 common preexisting abnormalities are present: preoperative chronic aspirin therapy, cardiac arrhythmias, deep vein thrombosis, or hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of delaying craniotomy should ultimately be weighed against the perceived risks associated the patient's comorbid conditions and should be considered on an individualized basis.