Preoperative assessment: Overview:
A thorough preoperative evaluation can be useful in many ways. For example, the evaluation can:
- Help to identify patients who may benefit from medical optimization prior to surgery.
- Help the surgical team decide if proceeding with an operation is the safest treatment option for the patient.
- Influence the method of anesthesia a patient receives during an operation.
This chapter will review the different components of a preoperative anesthesia assessment. We will also examine the preoperative assessment of patients with common respiratory and cardiac comorbidities and briefly discuss the risks associated with anesthesia.
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