Discontinuing aspirin or warfarin is optional for cataract surgery

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7430.0-f

BMJ 2004;328 (3 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7430.0-f

Filler

POEM^*

Discontinuing aspirin or warfarin is optional for cataract surgery

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Question Should anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents be stoppedbefore cataract surgery?

Synopsis In theory, having cataract surgery while taking anticoagulantsmight increase the risk of ocular haemorrhage. Is there anybenefit to continued anticoagulation? Although this isn't thebest possible study, it is the best available evidence to dateon this question. In this cohort study, the authors looked atall patients undergoing cataract surgery who were older than50 years and had no history of acute myocardial infarction andwhose surgery used general anaesthesia. Patients who took aspirinwere considered to have stopped if their last dose occurred14 days before surgery, and those who took warfarin were considerednon-users if the last dose occurred four days before surgery.Of 19 354 patients undergoing 20 775 operations, 94.1% agreedto participate, and 99.8% of the participants provided an interviewseven days after the surgery. Regarding aspirin, 76.7% did not. . . [Full text of this article]