Premedication and management of concomitant medication

Traditionally all surgical patients were given a combination of drugs preoperatively, often a sedative and an antisialogogue; this was referred to as the ‘premed’. This practice has changed over the past few years and nowadays premedication is only prescribed for specific indications. This article aims to explain why there has been a shift in practice and explains the rationale behind commonly used drugs. The second half of the article aims to give general advice about which long-term medications should be continued into the perioperative period and which should be stopped.