Impact of preoperative maintenance or interruption of aspirin on thrombotic and bleeding events after elective non-cardiac surgery: the multicentre, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, STRATAGEM trial †

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving anti-platelet agents for secondary cardiovascular prevention frequently require non-cardiac surgery. A substantial proportion of these patients have their anti-platelet drug discontinued before operation; however, there is uncertainty about the impact of this practice. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of maintenance or interruption of aspirin before surgery, in terms of major thrombotic and bleeding …