PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Edwards, Mark
AU  - Whittle, John
AU  - Ackland, Gareth L
TI  - Biomarkers to guide perioperative management
AID  - 10.1136/pgmj.2010.107177
DP  - 2011 Aug 01
TA  - Postgraduate Medical Journal
PG  - 542--549
VI  - 87
IP  - 1030
4099  - http://pmj.bmj.com/content/87/1030/542.short
4100  - http://pmj.bmj.com/content/87/1030/542.full
SO  - Postgrad Med J2011 Aug 01; 87
AB  - Stratifying preoperative risk and guiding perioperative therapy objectively has acquired critical importance, given robust data demonstrating that morbidity following non-cardiac surgery confers substantially increased risk of death, even beyond hospital discharge. The development of useful perioperative biomarkers depends fundamentally on both prospective morbidity data that enable the identification of higher risk patients as well as the translational understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying postoperative organ dysfunction, the development of which may be specific to the perioperative environment. The emergence of cardiac insufficiency, rather than cardiac ischaemia, as the dominant factor associated with excess risk of prolonged postoperative morbidity has promoted the application of biomarkers used commonly in cardiovascular medicine. Several novel, organ specific biomarkers offer potential perioperative application. Nevertheless, common tests/biomarkers that are widely available do provide valuable, objective information that is perhaps under-utilised perioperatively. Despite significant challenges, perioperative medicine presents exciting—arguably unique—opportunities for novel biomarker development.