Background/AimsDual antiplatelet therapy has to be used for at least 1 month after placement of bare metal coronary stents and for a minimum of 1 year after placement of drug eluting stents. Because of the higher risk of bleeding, guidelines strongly recommend to delay elective surgery until dual antiplatelet therapy is ended. However, no data are available regarding the bleeding risk in patients on combined aspirin/clopidogrel therapy undergoing surgical or high-risk endoscopic procedures.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the medical reports of patients on dual antiplatelet therapy, the patients who had to undergo emergency biliary-pancreatic surgery or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography with endoscopic sphincterotomy while in our unit between January 2009 and July 2012.ResultsIn our series, biliary-pancreatic surgical and endoscopic procedures were safely performed in 11 consecutive patients on dual antiplatelet therapy with no evidence of bleeding.ConclusionsIn emergency, surgical and high risk endoscopic procedures may be performed in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.