[Perioperative handling of immunosuppressive therapy]

High-Risk Perioperative Medications in the Chinese Elderly Population

Background

Inappropriate perioperative medications among elderly patients increase the risk of adverse events and undermine surgical outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of high-risk medications in elderly surgical patients and verify the effectiveness of a new-developed high-risk perioperative medications (HRPOMs) list for the elderly.

Methods

A cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted at Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University. A total of 810 elderly surgical patients were included in the study. The HRPOMs list was applied to patients’ data to identify the HRPOMs including chronic medications and medications related to surgery.

Results

A total of 2113 HRPOMs were identified in 810 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 1067 (50.5%) involved medications related to surgery, and 982 (46.5%) involved chronic medications. The prevalence of HRPOM exposure, which was defined as at least one HRPOM was 76.3%. Patients that were 70 years or older (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.118, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.420~3.159), hospitalized over two weeks (AOR =4.192, 95% CI, 1.493~11.771), with more than 2 distinct diagnoses (AOR =3.407, 95% CI, 2.224~5.220) and with 16 or more medications during hospitalization were more likely to be exposed to HRPOMs. Patients who underwent surgeries of Grade IV were at 1.73 increased odds of HRPOM exposure compared with those who received surgeries of Grade III or lower (P=0.071).

Conclusion

HRPOMs are more common in patients of 70 years or older, with 3 or more distinct diagnoses, with 16 or more medications and hospitalized for 15 days or longer. Our study showed the validity of the HRPOMs list in the perioperative medication review for the elderly and may induce further research to reveal the impact of HRPOMs upon the surgical outcomes of the elderly.

[Immunosuppressive treatment and bone healing]

Due to demographic changes in the population and the development of novel immunosuppressive agents, an increasing number of trauma and orthopedic patients are taking concomitant immunosuppressive medication. These drugs might interfere with the healing process and can possibly retard or prevent wound and fracture healing and lead to a higher risk of infections. In these complex situations a structured and interdisciplinary process during hospital admission should preoperatively evaluate the possibility of interrupting immunosuppressive medications for the perioperative treatment period without risking a relapse of the underlying disease and which surgical approach should be individually selected for the patient.