Can statins reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing non-cardiac vascular surgery?

Aims. To determine whether statins can reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing non-cardiac vascular surgery. Methods. A search using Pubmed was performed to identify reports in English. The search terms were: statins, perioperative morbidity, perioperative mortality and vascular surgery. We excluded studies dealing with the effect of statins in cardiac surgery. Retrieved articles were manually searched. Results. Current evidence shows that statins decrease perioperative morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing non-cardiac vascular surgery. Any benefit probably occurs soon (within a month) after initiating treatment. Conclusions. Appropriately designed trials need to confirm the beneficial effect of perioperative statin therapy in various patient categories. The optimal duration and dose of perioperative statin therapy should be defined.