title: Use of preoperative antidepressants is not associated with postoperative hospital length of stay.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Antidepressant medications are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Their use may lead to a number of side effects with important implications in the perioperative period. Our aim was to examine the effect of preoperative antidepressant administration on post-surgical hospital length of stay (LOS) in elective non-cardiac surgery patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Historical cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic and preoperative data were collected by chart review for all non-cardiac surgery patients who were assessed in the preoperative consult clinic from April 2008 through February 2009. Patients were grouped according to whether or not they were taking antidepressant medications. Median length of stay was compared between patients who took antidepressants preoperatively and those who did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were collected for 3,692 patients. Two hundred eighty-nine (7.8%) patients were taking antidepressants preoperatively. Use of antidepressants was not associated with an increased hospital LOS. The median LOS was four days both for patients who took antidepressants preoperatively (95% confidence interval [CI] 4 to 4) and for those who did not (95% CI 3 to 5) (P = 0.13).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The preoperative use of antidepressant medications was not associated with increased postoperative hospital LOS following elective non-cardiac surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, 3 Eaton North, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada, ainsley.sutherland@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Ainsley M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katznelson
authors.forename: Hance A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tait
authors.forename: W Scott
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Beattie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents