Practice-changing updates in the perioperative medicine literature of 2025

A wealth of new literature is published annually in the growing field of perioperative medicine. The most noteworthy publications are often hard to find as they are spread over a variety of journals. We have undertaken a multi-database literature search from January to December of 2025 to identify the most impactful perioperative articles from the past year. We included original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and guidelines. We excluded abstracts, case reports, letters, or literature pertaining to cardiovascular surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics. Two authors reviewed each reference using the Distiller SR systematic review software (Evidence Partners Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). A modified Delphi technique was used to narrow down to seven of the most impactful publications and another eight tabular summaries. The purpose of this review is to highlight new literature to improve perioperative outcomes for patients.