[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Anaesthesia and ICU](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/) › Preoperative assessment

# Preoperative assessment

The pre-anaesthetic visit: ASA class, the airway, cardiac risk, fasting, which medicines to continue or stop, and consent.

9 pages

## Concept

- [**Anticoagulants, antiplatelets and neuraxial blocks** Blood thinners must be paused for the right time before a spinal or epidural and its catheter…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/anticoagulants-antiplatelets-and-neuraxial-blocks/)
- [**Consent for anaesthesia** Before anaesthesia, the patient hears what will be done, its main risks and options, and freely…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/consent-for-anaesthesia/)
- [**Premedication and aspiration prophylaxis** Some patients receive medicines before anaesthesia to ease anxiety or to make stomach contents…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/premedication-and-aspiration-prophylaxis/)
- [**Preoperative fasting: what and why** Patients stop eating and drinking for some hours before anaesthesia so the stomach is empty and…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/preoperative-fasting-what-and-why/)
- [**Which medicines to continue or stop before surgery** Before an operation the team decides, medicine by medicine, which ones to keep taking and which…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/which-medicines-to-continue-or-stop-before-surgery/)

## Assessment

- [**ASA physical status classification** A six-level scale that describes how ill a patient is before an anaesthetic, from healthy (I) to…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/asa-physical-status-classification/)
- [**Cardiac risk before non-cardiac surgery** Before an operation the doctor estimates how likely the heart is to suffer, and decides whether…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/cardiac-risk-before-non-cardiac-surgery/)
- [**Predicting a difficult airway: Mallampati, mouth opening, neck and jaw** Before anaesthesia the doctor looks at the mouth, jaw and neck to predict whether breathing for…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/predicting-a-difficult-airway-mallampati-mouth-opening-neck-and-jaw/)
- [**The pre-anaesthetic visit: history, examination and tests** Before surgery an anaesthetist talks with the patient, examines them and orders only the tests…](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/the-pre-anaesthetic-visit-history-examination-and-tests/)

## A to Z

- [A](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/a/)
- [B](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/b/)
- [C](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/c/)
- [D](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/d/)
- [E](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/e/)
- [F](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/f/)
- [G](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/g/)
- [H](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/h/)
- [I](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/i/)
- [L](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/l/)
- [M](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/m/)
- [N](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/n/)
- [O](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/o/)
- [P](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/p/)
- [R](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/r/)
- [S](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/s/)
- [T](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/t/)
- [V](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/v/)
- [W](https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/a-z/w/)

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Educational content; it does not replace supervised training, your institution's protocols or the anaesthetist's or intensivist's decision. It contains no doses and no ventilator or infusion settings.

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/areas/preop/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/anaesthesia/areas/preop/