Perioperative complications in patients with drug-eluting stents: a three-year audit at Geelong Hospital.

Drug-eluting stents are a recommended treatment for lesions in the coronary arteries. Stent insertion requires the patient remain on anti-platelet medication for a minimum of six months after insertion. A serious consequence of ceasing anti-platelet medication is late stent thrombosis leading to myocardial infarction in the territory of the drug-eluting stent. Continuing anti-platelet medication can lead to excessive bleeding at the time of surgery. Understanding the risk of complications attributable to bleeding or myocardial ischaemia will help in defining the optimal management of these patients at the time of non-cardiac surgery. This study is a retrospective database analysis and case note review of all patients with drug-eluting stents presenting for non-cardiac surgical procedures over a three-year period in one centre. Twenty-four patients with drug-eluting stents inserted presented for 43 non-cardiac surgical procedures. Severe bleeding problems were encountered in one case. Three of 15 patients (20%) who ceased clopidogrel prior to surgery without alternative anti-thrombotic prophylaxis suffered myocardial infarction due to stent thrombosis. Four patients who received alternative anti-thrombotic prophylaxis did not suffer complications. All 19 patients who ceased clopidogrel remained on aspirin prior to surgery. Patients treated with drug-eluting stents for coronary artery stenosis represent a challenging group of patients for subsequent perioperative management. The risk of myocardial infarction when clopidogrel is stopped prior to surgery is 20%, if alternative anti-thrombotic prophylaxis is not used. This risk persists beyond one year after insertion of drug-eluting stents. Some treatments appear to be effective in reducing the risk of myocardial infarction.