Management of antithrombotic agents in the perioperative period is a common and vexing challenge for physicians. The purpose of this module is to review risk factors for thromboembolism and bleeding associated with different thromboembolic disorders and invasive procedures.

This module discusses the basic forms of surgical anesthesia and contraindications to each, as well as the most commonly used anesthetic drugs, their mechanisms of actions, and side effects. An overview of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Classification Status System will be presented along with issues that will prompt an anesthesiologist to cancel a surgery on the day of surgery.

This module discusses the common challenges and pitfalls of preoperative testing, describes how pretest probability influences the decision to order preoperative tests, and identifies appropriate indications for laboratory, radiologic, and other forms of preoperative test screening. The selection of appropriate screening tools to identify patients at high risk for specific perioperative complications and the use of post-test probability to select and interpret preoperative diagnostic testing is also examined.