Perioperative management of antirheumatic therapy

Abstract

When patients with rheumatic diseases undergo surgery, a difficult decision is whether or not to suspend anti-rheumatic medication during the peri-operative period. The difficulty lay in striking a balance between maintaining control of the disease and optimizing wound healing along with minimizing the postoperative risk of infection and that of other morbidities. In this manuscript we review the available data on the use of glucocorticoids (GCs), diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological agents in the peri-operative period of patients with rheumatic diseases.