The Diabetic Surgical Patient

Diabetes mellitus is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States; diabetic patients have a 50% chance of undergoing a surgical procedure during their lifetime, and operations in this patient population have been associated with a reported mortality of 4% to 13%. Careful planning of operative management and perioperative care must be taken into account when scheduling surgery for diabetic patients, especially patients taking insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. Debate continues and inconsistencies remain regarding the management of both diabetes and hyperglycemia in the surgical setting. The review covers the evaluation of the diabetic patient, preoperative management, intraoperative management, postoperative management, total parenteral nutrition and blood glucose, cardiovascular and renal assessment, infection, and special populations.  This review contains 2 figures, 5 tables, and 21 references Keywords: Glucose, Hyperglycemia, perioperative period, surgery, diabetes mellitus, surgical site infection, preoperative management, postoperative management, wound healing