Do antidepressants cause complications during anesthesia? There are many drugs with different ways of action in the treatment of depression. These can cause problems when a patient is asked to undergo anesthesia. If, however, the anti-depressant course is done with at least 2 weeks prior to the surgery, it will not hinder with anesthesia
. Before, during or after anesthesia most patients have to be administered other drugs like muscle relaxants, painkillers and blood pressure stabilizing agents. These medicines can react with each other and lead to unwanted effects.
Here are the symptoms seen in patients who have been on anti-depressants before undergoing anesthesia:
• Severe palpitations
• Heart movement abnormalities
• ECG changes
• Extremely high blood pressure
• Complexity in temperature regulation
• Increased surgical bleeding
• Post-operative confusion
• Serotonin syndrome manifest sudden agitation, muscle rigidity high body temperature, seizure sometimes coma.
In most cases, drugs used for depression cannot be stopped before anesthesia due to reasons of withdrawal and relapse symptoms. Keeping the attending psychiatrist in the loop is commendable. A complete list of drugs to be taken by the patient should be given to the anesthetist in advance

Also Read:

• Antidepressants that cause weight gain ,

by Dr John on 03. Jun, 2010 in Drugs and Medications