[Perioperative management of chronic medications not related with surgical procedures]

The correct management of chronic medications not related with surgical procedures in the perioperative period has a relevant place because each year millions of patients around the world undergo surgical procedures. For this reason the assistencial team should be aware of the importance of continuate or discontinuate determinate drugs during perioperative period because some of them are considered an important risk factor in the development of complications. The key is to differentiate necessary from unnecessary medication. This is a complex aspect, little studied, which difficult clinical decisions and favours the coexistence of several trends of clinical practice. The purpose of this review is to describe the factors that determinate the continuity or suspension of chronic medications which are not related with surgery in the perioperative period and to provide practice recommendations in lights of available publications.