Perioperative care of the orthopedic patient with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is amongst the most prevalent of chronic diseases. As such it is frequently encountered in surgical patients where its impact is felt in other important ways, specifically the higher risk of infection and impaired healing seen in these patients. These problems, coupled with the challenges of perioperative glucose management, ensure that the patient with diabetes will tax the skills of the perioperative physician. In this chapter a method for approaching and managing the diabetic in the perioperative setting is presented.