SSRI Use Around Time Of Surgery Linked To Increased Risks.

HealthDay (4/30, Mann) reports that the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) “around the time of surgery may increase risks associated with the procedure, including bleeding, the need for a blood transfusion, hospital readmission and even death,” according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Investigators looked at data on “more than half a million people who had surgery at 375 U.S. hospitals between 2006 and 2008.”

MedPage Today (4/30, Phend) reports that individuals “on SSRIs in the perioperative period had 20% higher odds of dying in the hospital after elective major surgery (95% CI 1.07 to 1.36) compared with all other patients.” The researchers also found that “bleeds and early readmission to the hospital also occurred more often among those patients.” However, these results did not “prove causality.”

Related Links:

— “Some Antidepressants Linked to Bleeding Risk With Surgery, “Denise Mann, HealthDay, April 29, 2013.

Posted in In The News.