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An Anesthesiologist's Philosophy on Medical Clearance for Surgical Patients

An Anesthesiologist's Philosophy on Medical Clearance for Surgical Patients Abstract To the Editor: —From our viewpoint, Dr Choi's editorial1 concerning the role of the internist in the preoperative evaluation of the surgical patient was not only timely, but insightful as well. We are sure that most anesthesiologists wholeheartedly agree with his thoughts.Certain points deserve emphasis, others may be modified. First, the motivation for requesting a medical consultation is all too often confused, thereby precipitating misunderstanding. For instance, if the consultation request is initiated in order to provide a buffer against legal liability or to derive suggestions for intraoperative anesthetic management, then both the patient and medical consultant have been done a disservice. The end result would not be even potentially therapeutic, which should be the primary goal of the requestor. Moreover, in the circumstance where the medical consultant recommends an anesthetic technique and this course is not followed by the anesthesiologist for appropriate and defined reasons, but complications References 1. Choi JJ: An anesthesiologist's philosophy on 'medical clearance' for surgical patients. Arch Intern Med 1987;147:2090-2092.Crossref 2. Caplan RA, Ward RJ, Rosner K, et al: Unexpected cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1988;68:5-22.Crossref http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Internal Medicine American Medical Association

An Anesthesiologist's Philosophy on Medical Clearance for Surgical Patients

Archives of Internal Medicine , Volume 148 (6) – Jun 1, 1988

An Anesthesiologist's Philosophy on Medical Clearance for Surgical Patients

Abstract

Abstract To the Editor: —From our viewpoint, Dr Choi's editorial1 concerning the role of the internist in the preoperative evaluation of the surgical patient was not only timely, but insightful as well. We are sure that most anesthesiologists wholeheartedly agree with his thoughts.Certain points deserve emphasis, others may be modified. First, the motivation for requesting a medical consultation is all too often confused, thereby precipitating misunderstanding. For instance, if the...
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References (3)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1988 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0003-9926
eISSN
1538-3679
DOI
10.1001/archinte.1988.00380060232043
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract To the Editor: —From our viewpoint, Dr Choi's editorial1 concerning the role of the internist in the preoperative evaluation of the surgical patient was not only timely, but insightful as well. We are sure that most anesthesiologists wholeheartedly agree with his thoughts.Certain points deserve emphasis, others may be modified. First, the motivation for requesting a medical consultation is all too often confused, thereby precipitating misunderstanding. For instance, if the consultation request is initiated in order to provide a buffer against legal liability or to derive suggestions for intraoperative anesthetic management, then both the patient and medical consultant have been done a disservice. The end result would not be even potentially therapeutic, which should be the primary goal of the requestor. Moreover, in the circumstance where the medical consultant recommends an anesthetic technique and this course is not followed by the anesthesiologist for appropriate and defined reasons, but complications References 1. Choi JJ: An anesthesiologist's philosophy on 'medical clearance' for surgical patients. Arch Intern Med 1987;147:2090-2092.Crossref 2. Caplan RA, Ward RJ, Rosner K, et al: Unexpected cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1988;68:5-22.Crossref

Journal

Archives of Internal MedicineAmerican Medical Association

Published: Jun 1, 1988

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