Abstract
The use of dietary supplements (DS) is prevalent in Japan and other countries. However, information on the prevalence of DS use before surgery and their adverse effects is still scarce. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of DS use before surgery and their perioperative adverse effects in surgical patients. DS use before surgery in 1,100 patients was investigated by direct interview after the surgery. The unanticipated perioperative events were surveyed by reviewing the patients, clinical charts. Among the 1,100 patients, 515 patients (46.8%) had a history of using DS for 5 years before the surgery. Two weeks before the surgery, 98 out of 515 patients (19.0%) were still taking them, and one week before the surgery, 13 patients (2.5%) were still taking them, and none of them informed the medical staff of this fact. The incidence of prolonged prothrombin time (PT) , activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) , and bleeding time was not statistically different between the two groups. No perioperative events secondary to their use were observed. Anesthesiologists and surgeons should be aware of the potential risk of the use of these supplements, and should inquire about their use before surgery. Since reliable information on the risk of supplement use before surgery is lacking, prospective randomized studies are needed.
