Taking Aspirin Before Heart Surgery May Be Beneficial
Posted on: Sunday, 30 October 2005, 03:01 CST
By Anonymous
A study on aspirin use before cardiac surgery provides further evidence of the benefits of aspirin for patients with heart disease and suggests that patients should continue taking it even in the days Leading up to surgery, according to an Aug 29, 2005, news release from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Many surgeons who are concerned about excessive bleeding caused by inadequate clotting advise their patients to stop taking aspirin before surgery, according to the researchers. This study was designed to provide guidance on whether continuing aspirin therapy in the days before surgery is beneficial or risky.
Researchers collected data from 1,636 patients who had first- time coronary artery bypass surgery at the Mayo Clinic between 2000 and 2002. Patients were divided into groups of those who had taken aspirin in the five days before surgery (n = 1,316 patients) and those who had not (n = 320 patients). Patients in the two groups had similar characteristics, although patients in the aspirin group were more likely to have had a previous heart attack, and those not taking aspirin were more likely to be on dialysis. Members of both groups received aspirin therapy after surgery, beginning six hours after the procedure.
The in-hospital mortality rate for patients who took aspirin before surgery (ie, 1.7%) was significantly less than that for those who did not take aspirin (ie, 4.4%), In addition, there was no increased risk of reoperation for excessive internal bleeding for patients in the aspirin group. The study results further suggest there was a reduction in strokes and related events in the aspirin group, but the trend was not strong enough to be statistically significant.
Mayo Clinic Study: Don't Stop Taking Aspirin Before Heart Surgery (news release, Rochester, Minn: Mayo Clinic, Aug 29, 2005) http:// www.mayoclinic.org/news2005-rst /3010.html (accessed 1 Sept 2005).
Copyright Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. Oct 2005
Source: Association of Operating Room Nurses. AORN Journal
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