Perioperative Care; Fluid and Electrolyte

Preoperative assessment is essentially a clinical risk assessment where the health of a patient is appraised to ascertain that the person is fit to undergo the anaesthetic for a planned operation. The optimum time frame for this assessment to take place is three to four weeks before the surgery.

• Psychological assessment
• Social history
• Family health history
• Past health history

The management of the pre-operative drug regime falls into three categories; prescriptions to stop, prescriptions to alter, and prescriptions to start. In certain patients, bowel preparation and blood products may also need to be considered.

Good perioperative care should improve patient experience of care, including quality of care and satisfaction with care, improve health of populations, including returning to home/work and quality of life, and reduce the per capita cost of health care through improving value.

The goal of effective preoperative care is to 'ensure the individual is in the best physical and psychological condition possible before undergoing surgery.