This second edition presents the first update on a consensus process during which all evidence from the literature with a survival benefit in the perioperative period was gathered, and in which 500 physicians from 61 countries worked to confirm the findings.

Perioperative morbidity and mortality currently represent a public health problem, as mortality alone is 1-4% in Western countries. Surprisingly, randomized evidence of survival benefit in the perioperative period is available for only 12 topics, while two drugs have been demonstrated to increase mortality. This book offers a...